CANADIAN MARITIMES 2016 19 June - 17 August 2016

SMART Canadian Maritimes Caravan 2016 19 June - 17 August 2016 Wagon Masters: Carl and Gwen Hopper Assistant Wagon Masters: Mark and Linda Avey

The 2016 Canadian Maritimes Caravan started and ended in Hermon, Maine, and covered over 3,000 miles in the Maritime Provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island. We started the trip with 19 rigs but unfortunately lost one in Monc- ton, New Brunswick ,due to an accident. No one was seriously injured, but we had to continue on with only 18 rigs. Some of the highlights of this trip included the Bay of Fundy with 25-foot tides, the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo, rides on the Bluenose II and Amoeba sailing vessels, whale watching tours, and some of the most beautiful and breathtaking scenery in the world. Some of our group even took a day trip to Labrador, while others sailed out of St. Anthony, Newfoundland, to view icebergs and whales. We enjoyed many caravan-sponsored dinners with lots of lobster and other seafood. This was an amazing trip which was made even more enjoyable by the outstanding people who traveled with us. Many thanks to all who contributed time and effort to make this a truly memorable trip.

Carl & Gwen Hopper and Linda & Mark Avey

2 3 Itinerary

leg dates city state/province campground 1 June 19-20 Hermon Maine Pumpkin Patch 2 June 21-23 St John New Brunswick Rockwood Park 3 June 24-26 Hopewell Cape Ponderosa Pines 4 June 27-July 1 Hammonds Plains Nova Scotia Woodhaven 5 July 2-4 Grand Pré & Parker’s Cove Cove Oceanfront 6 July 5-7 Lunenburg Little Lake 7 July 8 Glenholme Elm River 8 July 9-10 Havre Boucher Hyclass 9 July 11-14 Baddeck Baddeck Cabot Trail 10 July 15-16 Little Bras d’Or Arm of Gold 11 July 17 North Sydney North Sydney Terminal 12 July 17-18 Gulf of St Lawrence Overnight ferry to Atlantic Ocean Newfoundland 13 July 18 Argentia Newfoundland Argentia Terminal 14 July 18-20 St John’s Pippy Park 15 July 21-22 Bonavista Paradise Farm 16 July 23-25 Lewisporte Woolfrey’s Pond 17 July 26-28 Rocky Harbour Gros Morne 18 July 29-31 St Anthony Triple Falls 19 August 1 Rocky Harbour Gros Morne 20 August 2 Doyles Station Grand Codroy 21 August 3-4 Gulf of St Lawrence Nova Scotia Day ferry to Nova Scotia Little Bras d’Or Arm of Gold 22 August 5 Glenholme Elm River 23 August 6-9 Charlottetown Prince Edward Island Charlottetown KOA 24 August 10-12 Summerside Crystal Beach 25 August 13-15 St Andrews New Brunswick Kiwanis Oceanfront 26 August 16-17 Hermon Maine Pumpkin Patch

4 Mile 0, June 18-20: Hermon, Maine and rifled cannons. This fort has been well restored and maintained by a local volunteer group, and our by Carol & Patrick Hill tour guide vividly painted a picture for us of life The phrase “The Canadian Maritimes” conjures there in the 19th century. up images of enchanting marine provinces with rugged coastlines, idyllic fishing villages, white foam rollers crashing into weathered rock faces, ancient lighthouses, friendly Canadians from a mix of cultures, and lobster suppers. When we learned that S*M*A*R*T was providing another Maritimes caravan, several of us signed up instantly, and others over the past year, so that tomorrow we are embarking on the caravan with 19 RVs. We’ve been arriving over the past week from all parts of the country to the Pumpkin Patch Campground in Hermon, Maine (near Bangor) and have been welcomed warmly by our Wagonmas- ters Carl and Gwen Hopper, and our Assistant Interior of Ft Knox Wagonmasters (Tailgunners) Mark and Linda Avey. They have been planning the caravan in minute de- Near Fort Knox, we also visited the beautiful tail for almost two years, and their hard work 2,120-foot-long Penobscot Narrows Bridge. It is one shows in the comprehensive caravan notebooks of only three cable-stayed bridges in the U.S. that they presented to us at our Welcome Dinner. (including the Zakim Bridge in Boston) to utilize a cradle system that carries the strands within the stays from bridge deck to bridge deck as a continu- ous element, eliminating anchorages in the pylons. Besides carrying US Hwy 1 across the Penobscot River, the bridge also has an observatory in it! It’s the first bridge observation tower in the US and the tallest public bridge obser- vatory in the world (420 feet), and it’s all thanks to the designing engineer’s wife, who said to him: Since it’s going to be so tall, why don’t you put an Carl welcoming the group observatory in it? After a 50-second elevator ride, For our first day of activities, we drove to nearby you can look out 360° and State Historic Site Fort Knox on the Penobscot view the bridge, the fort, Penobscot Narrows bridge River, named after the same general as is the Fort and the river. & observatory Knox in Kentucky where the gold is, Major General Henry Knox, Commander of Artillery during the It being lunchtime by then, most of us drove Revolutionary War and the first US Secretary of across the river to Crosby’s Drive-In in Bucksport to War. This was one of 42 “Third System” defensive feast on delicious lobster rolls. We spent the rest of forts conceived after the War of 1812 but not com- our time in Hermon doing last-minute errands, pleted until the Civil War, in time for them to be getting to know one another, and preparing our rendered ineffectual by the invention of iron ships vehicles to hit the road for Canada tomorrow. 5 Mile 178, June 21-23: Bangor, Maine to As it was low tide, we were able to walk on the Saint John, New Brunswick rocky beach and view the sea caves, created by physical erosion of the relentless waves on the by Lida & Jim Cook sandstone cliffs. That is, we walked until the tide June 21 was a fine traveling day, with bountiful came rushing back in – yikes! wildflowers and an occasional osprey to see as we headed east (not north!) across the border to Saint John, New Bruns- wick. In the evening the Royal Canadi- an Legion treated us to Larry Lynch, President of the Royal Sea caves, beach, tide coming in Canadian Legion branch, welcomes us a great dinner We headed back to Saint John and the City at their Hall, Market, the oldest continuing farmer’s market in where members of the Legion presented us with Canada, with a charter dating from 1785. Now it’s various pins to signify the Legion and the Province. housed in a building that was completed in 1876, The member hosts at our table, Eric and Mary, and some of the businesses in the market have were delightful and regaled us with stories of Scot- been operating there continuously for more than land and the places we would be visiting. 100 years. On June 22 we boarded the bus for our tour of Our bus made a quick stop again at the Reversing Reversing Rapids, where twice a day the Saint John Rapids, where the tide was coming in and the river River flows upstream as the tide comes in; while was now flowing upstream! we were there it was flowing downstream, like a proper river. Peter, our guide, shared a plethora of knowledge about the area. From there our bus took us to the Fundy Shore, where we had lunch at The Cove Restaurant on the beach in Saint Martins – super seafood chowder! When we arrived, the tide was out and it was quite something to see the boats sitting dry on a stand, instead of floating in water.

St John River flowing upstream June 23 was a free day. Some members of the group revisited the City Market, while others toured the New Brunswick Museum or visited the zoo or the library. Others enjoyed a pint at Big Tide Brewery or a walk or drive through the expansive Rockwood Park where we are camped. This stay ended with a delicious potluck. It rained Boats waiting for the return of the tide shortly after we had all finished our evening visit. 6 Mile 284, June 24-26: Saint John to Hopewell Cape, New Brunswick by Mark & Linda Avey Leg 3 of our caravan on Friday, June 24, was a travel day from Saint John to Ponderosa Pines Campground in Hopewell Cape, New Brunswick. It was an easy drive of 107 miles with beautiful blue skies and fantastic weather. Upon our arrival at the campground, Wagon Master Carl suggested we carpool to The Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park for the high tide, which was due at 3:39pm. The Hopewell Rocks are located on Hopewell Rocks at low tide the shores of the Bay of Fundy, famous for having Paul led us all along the beach, explaining that the highest vertical tidal range in the world at 56 the tide at this location ranges between 32 and 46 feet. First we walked to a viewing platform to look feet, depending on the lunar cycle. He was very at the tide from above the rocks, then took a 700- knowledgeable and informative on all aspects of yard walk downhill through woods to see the rocks the lunar, solar and planetary gravitational effects from an observation deck lower down. on the tide. He told us that 160 billion tons of water enter and leave the bay twice a day, while it takes two years for that amount of water to go over Niag- ara Falls. It was hard enough to grasp the height of the tide, but some of the rocks fused into the sand- stone were 100s of millions years old.

Hopewell Rocks at high tide

The weather Saturday was just as wonderful as the previous day. We carpooled again to The Hope- well Rocks and met up with our tour guide, Paul, to begin our low-tide tour. We walked to the same observation deck as yesterday and saw people Paul informing us about what we were seeing walking on the bare beach where yesterday there We also saw the pieces of what was Elephant had been about 40 feet of water. Quite a difference Rock, which was intact two years ago on the previ- between the pictures we took at high tide and the ous SMART caravan but collapsed just three months rocks at low tide! ago. About 100-200 tons of rock fell to the ground. From the observation deck we descended 101 These rocks are also called The Flower Pots. steps to the ocean floor. It would be difficult to When Robert Ripley (Believe It or Not) visited in imagine the height of the tide unless you were on 1936, he thought the rounded urn shapes with veg- the floor looking up at the rocks you had seen the etation on top looked like giant flower pots, and previous day submerged in water. that name stuck. 7 Mile 466, June 27-July 1: Hopewell Cape NB to Halifax, Nova Scotia by Melody & Paul Thomas Disaster struck early Monday morning. The first travel group was passing through Moncton when a small car stopped short in front of one of our motor homes. Brakes screeched, glass shattered, and steel sheared. When it was over, the rear of the small car was smashed and the front of the motor home was badly damaged. The rest of the caravan had to con- tinue on, leaving Richard to deal with the insurance company and get his motor home repaired. We are all keeping our fingers crossed that he can take his Caravaners scrambling off the beach place back among us soon. The weather was pleasant, making the three- We got off the beach just ahead of the tide hour drive enjoyable as well. The roads wound rushing back in. We then enjoyed a caravan- through heavily forested areas dotted with lakes sponsored lunch at the Park Café which consisted and tributaries. We kept our eyes peeled for moose of sandwich or salad, soup, drinks and dessert. and other wildlife. Despite many warning signs, we On Sunday we scattered to different activities: saw no moose in the road. some went on tours of local lighthouses, while We are in others drove back to a cute little town called Alma Woodhaven RV that we had passed through. But most of us car- Park in Halifax, a pooled to the town of Moncton to watch the tidal large park with bore come up the Petitcodiac River, also called the 200 sites very Chocolate River because of the brown color of the close to one an- river bed, banks and water. other. The owner A tidal bore is a phenomenon in which, when is friendly and the tide in the bay shifts from outgoing to incom- insisted on A lobster apiece ing, the leading edge of the tide forms a wave that showing each of travels up the river against the direction of the us to our sites. In addition, he provided a special normal downstream current. The tidal bore goes by dinner: a 2½-pound boiled lobster for each of us! in just a few As we settled to our plates, conversation stopped minutes, so and for about 20 minutes silence fell upon the to see it you room except for the sound of cracking shells and have to be groans of delight. there at the Tuesday a bus picked up our group at 8:45 am. right time. Our guide, Alan, arrived wearing his tartan kilt and At 2:55 pm bringing a wealth of information. The Halifax penin- when the sula was inhabited for at least three millennia by wave from Surfer on the tidal bore the Mi’kmaq (pronounced “MIK-maw”) Nation. In the tide the early 1600s, the French founded the first per- started coming upriver, we saw a local surfer riding manent European settlement, the colony of Acadia. the leading edge of that wave. About 150 years later, the British landed and Returning to our campground, we had social settled on the site that is now the city of Halifax. hour and movement orders and discussed details of Under the Treaty of Paris in 1763, France ceded our travel for the next leg. almost all of North America to Britain. 8 Alan took us on a three-hour tour of Halifax, acres exhibited a traditional Victorian garden aes- stopping at key places along the way. Our first stop thetic: exotic foliage, a bandstand, geometric flow- was at the Fairview Lawn Cemetery, where we saw er beds, fountains, and winding paths. the 150+ gravesites placed for victims of the Titan- Following that visit was a quick stop at an over- ic. When the ship struck an iceberg April 15, 1912, look outside Halifax Citadel National Historic Site over 2,200 passen- (which we’ll visit Friday). Standing atop the hill, we gers and crew mem- could see Halifax spread out below along the har- bers went into the bor. subfreezing waters. Only 700 people sur- Wednesday morning our group met up at the vived in 20 lifeboats, Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. Our docent, which were picked up Jason, kept by the HMS Carpa- us enthralled thia. Rescue vessels with stories 150+ victims buried here from Halifax went out of sea life as and recovered just 328 bodies of the 1520 lost; he walked us most of those were buried at sea, and 209 were around the brought back to Halifax, 50 of them to be claimed two-story by family or friends and buried elsewhere. The rest museum. were interred in three cemeteries in Halifax accord- Over 24,000 artifacts tell ing to their religious beliefs. Learning more about the Titanic story stories of the Our next stop was the Public Gardens, a Nation- Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian merchant ma- al Historic Site right in the heart of the city. The 16 rine, and Nova Scotia small craft. The Wrecked Gal- lery exhibits the effect of fierce gales and rocky shorelines that spelled disaster for mighty ships. Scale models of some of the great ocean-going vessels dot the halls. A whole section is dedicated to the story of the Titanic, which had such an im- pact on Halifax. Outside on the pier we saw the Canadian sur- vey ship Acadia and Theodore Tug, a life-sized car- toon boat inspired by the Halifax waterfront. At the museum pier was moored the HMCS Sackville, a Canadian Corvette built for World War II to escort convoys of supply ships crossing the Atlantic and now restored to its 1944 appearance. After the museum, we were left to our own de- vices. Several of us walked the few blocks down to Alexander Keith’s Brewery. It is a large warehouse area converted to shops, restaurants, and a brew- ery. The brewery tour took us through reconstruct- ed parts of the old (still brewing) company. Along the way, we drank two 4 oz.- and two 12-oz. glass- es of beer. The tour ended in a large stone-and- wood English pub with musicians performing on a guitar and drums who got the group in a hand- Halifax Public Gardens clapping, foot-stomping mood. 9 We then wandered along the narrow streets, Special demonstrations took place all day with admiring the many historical buildings. Built from character actors in period costume performing ironstone and granite, St. Mary’s Basilica Cathedral historical tasks features the tallest polished granite steeple on the such as drill and continent, with 11 massive bells in the towers. St. ceremony, a Paul’s Anglican Church, the oldest Protestant bayonet charge, church in Canada, built in 1749, still conducts ser- a mockup of a vices. Others strolled the long boardwalk that runs World War I almost two miles along the waterfront, partaking of trench with an Ribfest, and touring the HMCS Summerside, a orderly room coastal defense vessel in port for the holiday. and aid station, and loading and Cannon firing demonstration firing a cannon. Midmorning we sat on the lawn below The Cita- del and watched the parade in honor of the day. Dancers, performers, musicians, and various other types of marchers took part. A bagpipe band played Scotland the Brave, followed by Royal Canadian Mounted Police in their distinctive uniforms.

HMCS Summerside For breakfast Thursday, Wagon Masters Carl and Gwen and Tail Gunners Mark and Linda (with some assistance from others) cooked up a delicious RCMP in Canada Day Parade breakfast of bacon and pancakes for the caravan. After dispersing again for more sightseeing and Then we were left to our own devices for the lunch, we all met at 2 pm at the Scotiabank Center day, fanning out around the local area in our blue to watch the Royal Nova Scotia International Tat- caravan jackets. Back at the campground, we had too. The show was phenomenal! with acrobats another treat for dinner: the large contingent of from Kenya, aerial gymnasts from Germany, Irish Southerners in our group suggested a Louisiana step dancers, Scottish and Canadian bagpipers, and banquet of shrimp étouffée, seafood gumbo, chick- the US Air Force Drill Team. The three hours flew. en-and-sausage gumbo, Jambalaya, beans and rice, potato salad, and French bread. Many skilled hands made a scrumptious dinner. Friday was Canada Day, the Canadians’ Inde- pendence Day. Unlike the United States, Canada did not have to have a revolution to gain independ- ence from Britain, it negotiated its separation. We took an early bus into Halifax to join the celebra- tions, then went our separate ways for a while. Many of us visited The Citadel, a summit fortified since 1749. The current star-shaped fort was de- signed in 1856 to repel a possible land-based attack by the US! which of course never happened. Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo 10 Mile 498, July 2-4: Halifax to Grand-Pré and Our first morning here we toured nearby Nauti- Parkers Cove, Nova Scotia cal Seafood Ltd, a huge seafood processing opera- tion where we learned more about lobsters than by Patrick & Carol Hill we ever dreamed we needed to know, from how After our exhilarating week in Halifax, Saturday they’re caught, kept, and shipped, to how to tell morning the caravan hit the road again, leaving the male from female, how they’re graded for size, and south side of the peninsula on the Atlantic for the so on. We each got to hold a 15-pound live lobster north coast. – that’s a lot of lobster! On our 120-mile drive today, we stopped to vis- it the Grand-Pré National Historic Site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. From the early 1600s until 1755, this area was populated by Acadians, de- scendants of French colonists. Grand-Pré was founded in 1680 by Pierre Mellanson, an Acadian from the first French settlement at Port-Royal. More settlers came and built dikes across the salt marshes, reclaiming several thousand acres of pro- ductive farm land. The Acadians lived here until the British con- quest in 1710. They refused to sign a loyalty oath to Britain, and during the French and Indian War, Brit- ish officers suspected that they were aiding the French. So about 11,500 Acadians were forcibly re- Don with a lot of lobster in front of lobster storage tanks moved their homes in the maritime region in Our next treat was lunch at Ye Olde Towne Pub what’s been called the Great Expulsion. About a in nearby Annapolis Royal. Wagon Master Carl had third of those who were expelled died from disease arranged for us to have a traditional Acadian potato and drowning. -and-scrap-meat dish called “rappie pie.” Delicious! The Acadian story was made famous by Henry Annapolis Royal was founded in 1629 as a Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem Evangeline, A Tale French settlement called Port-Royal. After the Brit- of Acadie, pub- ish conquest in 1710, it was renamed Annapolis lished in 1847. Royal and served as the capital of Acadia and later The story of a of Nova Scotia for almost 120 years, until the young Acadian girl founding of Halifax in 1749. from Grand-Pré, separated from Remember Pierre Mellanson, who founded her fiancé, Grand-Pré in 1680? Well, his 10x-great grandson, touched millions Alan Mellanson, was our afternoon tour guide. He’s around the world. a fascinating character who walked us through the In 1920, Acadians centuries with stories about the area’s history and reconstructed the many of the significant buildings that we saw, in- French church cluding: The Sinclair Inn, originally built in 1710 and here, and the believed to be the oldest wood-frame structure in Dominion Atlantic Canada. Railway erected Our tour ended at the lighthouse, where Alan’s a statue of wife Durline cajoled us into joining hands and learn- Evangeline to ing a traditional Acadian circle dance. We weren’t French church and statue of promote tourism. good, but we were enthusiastic! Evangeline 11 Monday was 4th of July, and we were on our over this strategic location at the mouth of the own to explore the many fascinating sights in the river. It has been fortified since 1629. The current area, such as: earthwork The Annapolis Tidal Generating Station, a 20- was started by megawatt tidal power station on the Annapolis Riv- the French in er. It harnesses the huge tidal difference and is the 1702, and we only tidal generating station in North America. We were able to put on hard hats and took an elevator down into go into the the guts of the plant to see how it worked. below-ground powder maga- zine from the original fort. Powder magazine at Fort Anne A busy day, with so much to do that no one got to see it all. Our campground at Parkers Cove is spectacular! We’re on a grassy bluff overlooking the Bay of Fundy. It’s very windy at times, but not cold. Nova Scotia is famous for its brightly painted buildings, and within walking distance from our site is a picturesque little fishing cove.

The Habitation at Port-Royal The reconstructed Habitation at Port-Royal, recreated from historical records and archeologic finds. It was established in 1605 across the river from Annapolis Royal and was France’s first suc- cessful settlement in North America. It was de- stroyed by British military forces in 1613, and then France relocated the settlement to the present-day site of Annapolis Royal, which the British took from the French in 1710. Fishing cove with painted buildings The Historic Gardens, a 17-acre horticultural paradise. Historically themed areas tell the story of At 5:00 pm we gathered out on the lawn for our Nova Scotia set- travel meeting and a traditional 4th of July picnic, tlement from celebrating the birthday of our beloved country. an agricultural and horticultur- al perspective over 400 years of local history. It was all just lovely, but O, Roses at Historic Gardens the roses! The town of Digby, down the coast from Annap- olis Royal and known for its outstanding scallops. The site of Fort Anne, overlooking the Annapolis River. A succession of First Nations, Scottish, French, and English settlers clashed for centuries The grillers: Scott, Richard, Mark & Allen 12 Mile 912, July 5-10: Parkers Cove to Lunen- lot of caravan members experienced their first sail. burg to Havre Boucher, Nova Scotia The 17-member crew live aboard from May- October. The Bluenose II is a fabulous schooner, by Mark & Linda Avey and the trip was awesome. On July 5th we travelled a very short 87 miles The next day we met at the Fisheries Museum from Parker’s Cove to Lunenburg, back on the of the Atlantic for a guided tour. The Museum was Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia. It was an early travel terrific. It got its start in 1967 and since that time day, beginning with the first travel group departing has grown to include a large complex of historic at 7:00 am. We left early because we had tickets to buildings, with sail on the schooner Bluenose II. an impressive aquarium, theatre, and exhibits (and a great gift shop!). From our charismatic Our docent, Katherine, educates us and expert docent , we learned more about flounder, halibut, Atlantic cod, and especially the Atlantic lobster: female lobsters can lay approxi- mately 20,000 eggs, and the older they get, the more eggs Bluenose II they produce. Lobsters can live The Bluenose II was built in 1963 as a replica of to more than Johnny, Linda, Doris, Herb, Melody the original Bluenose, which was built in 1921. The 150 years old. & Don at the touch tank first Bluenose was a fishing and racing schooner From the Museum we traveled to Ovens Park designed to represent the skills of working people, for a great lunch with wonderful views of the water and the result was a schooner that won every race and coastline. A gold rush in 1861 made Ovens Park and set the speed record for this class that still famous. The gold rush did not last long, but the sea stands. It’s used for Canadian tourism promotion as caves along the coast appeared to resemble 19th- a “sailing ambassador.” century ovens; hence the name “Ovens.” The ship powered out of the harbor, and after a while the crew raised only two of the four sails; there was too much wind to raise more. A Enjoying the sailing despite the wind Oven-shaped sea cave 13 Peggy’s Cove is an active fishing village and a favorite with tourists, artists, and photographers, as strict land-use restrictions pre- serve its rustic, undeveloped ap- pearance. Glaciers and continental collisions formed the rocky area, so rocky that there is Walking the sea cliff trail no underground cemeteries, water, Most of us took the 1¼-mile trek along the sea or sewer. cliff trail, past spectacular slate formations to the The lighthouse caves. At the last one, called Cannon Cave, we at Peggy’s Cove is could hear the resounding boom created as waves one of the most smashed into the cavern. photographed in On Thursday, July 7th, we traveled to Peggy’s the world. It first Cove, stopping along the way to see the Flight 111 guided sailors in Memorial. 1868; this struc- Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse Swissair ture is from 1915. Flight 111 Prior to lunch at the Sou’ Wester restaurant, crashed near many of us walked down to the lighthouse for here seven viewing and picture taking although, unfortunately, miles out on it was a cold, windy day. Paul had brought his tri- the sea in pod and took some great photos of the group with 1998. The the lighthouse in the background. Another good memorial lunch, and we headed back to the RV park for our site was very social hour and “Movement Orders” at 5:00 pm. Swissair Flight 111 Memorial emotional.

Peggy’s Cove 14 July 8th was a travel day, an easy 2½-hour trip to men’s and women’s Tug-of-War. The Tug-of War from Lunenburg to Glenholme, where we stayed for was fascinating. The teams lined up on a narrow, just one night. Wagon Master Carl had told us long stretch of dirt, and each competitor dug a about the Masstown Market and Catch of the Bay trench as a foothold. At the far end of the rope was fresh fish market, where we found the chowder mix the “anchor,” working in a harness. When the timer he recommended along with seafood for it. started, each team member just held onto the rope On Saturday, July 9th, we travelled a short 106 and leaned way back and stayed that way without miles from Glenholme to Hyclass RV Park moving. in Havre Boucher (pronounced HAV-er Boo-SHAY). Some people ventured into the nearby town of Antigonish (pronounced AN-tee-ga-NISH). It’s a very historical town founded in 1784, with a preponderance of Scottish heritage. Social hour was at 5:00 pm around a very welcome fire pit to warm the gathering.

The next day most members went Antigonish women’s Tug of War team into town to see the Antigonish Highland Games, which have drawn competitors and fans to Antigon- After several minutes of apparently nothing ish since 1863. We saw true ancient Scottish herit- happening, the Antigonish women suddenly all bent age shown in the contests, from Highland Dancers their knees in unison and turned the other way with the rope over their shoulders. Then they slowly but steadily and inexorably pulled the other team along behind them. It was very dramatic! A highlight of the Games was the men’s Heavy Events: Hammer Throw, Stone, Weight for Height, Weight for Dis- Highland Dance competition tance Farmer’s Walk, Sheaf Toss, to Pipe (bagpipe) and Drum Bands and Caber Toss.

Weight for distance

Throughout the 3-day festival there were intervals of Ceilidh, which is a Gaelic social gathering with singing and storytelling. (Ceilidh is pro- nounced – believe it or not – “KAY-lee.”) Social hour and movement orders were at 5:00 pm around the fire pit in Pipe and Drum competition a light drizzle. 15 Mile 971, July 11-14: Havre Boucher to Baddeck, Nova Scotia by John & Janie Reynolds Monday, July 11: Rain, sometimes heavy, greeted the caravan at the start of the ninth leg of the Maritimes journey. The departure from Hyclass Campground and the drive were uneventful in spite of the rain. The waterscape scenery was specular in spite of the lack of sun. Baddeck (pronounced Ba-DECK) Cabot Trail Campground in the Cape Breton area has a great hillside setting. The group met in the Campers’ Lounge, where co-owner Wolfgang briefed us on the local points of interest. Magnificent! Tuesday, July 12: We arose to a spectacular sun-filled sky as the group prepared for the day’s Our sail took us around white-speckled Bird- activities. We made our way to the lovely water- Poop Island, which is home to a variety of birds in- front of Baddeck and boarded the sailing vessel cluding cormorants as well as harbor seals; we Amoeba for a trip around Bras d’Or (pronounced spotted two of those for sure. The island used to Bra-DOR) Lake, an extraordinarily large salt-water be huge, but due to erosion has now shrunk to its lake with depths up to 1000 feet. current postage-stamp size. Our boat was under the command of Captain Next we sailed towards Beinn Bhreagh (Gaelic John, the owner, and a longtime resident of the ar- for “beautiful mountain”), the estate of Alexander ea. He was quite a character: after we left the dock Graham Bell perched high on a hill. As we tacked and he and his two crewman began hoisting the back and forth toward the promontory, Captain sails, he showed us a book he was reading and said John described how Mr. Bell had acquired the land he was on Chapter Two already: after realizing a lot of money after inventing the But the truth telephone. was that his father As we returned to the dock, we passed delight- had built this 55- ful Kidston lighthouse. foot all-wood ves- From sel in his back yard there we in 1950-60, and all went John spent part of our own his childhood living ways, to in the Caribbean lunch, to Islands where he nap, to do learned to sail. laundry, We cleared the and to harbor, and then explore Captain John Captain John lured the sur- an American Bald Eagle, and then another, from rounding their nest by dropping a frozen herring in the water places of near the starboard side, setting up a great photo interest. opp for us all. He repeated this act again later in the voyage. Kidston Lighthouse 16 We headed northeast towards Sydney to ex- We went with Mark and Linda, Carl and Gwen, plore the Fleur-de-lis Trail. The terrain as usual was and Scott and Evie, (the Nevada connection) to the superb. The countryside has so many quaint houses Lynwood Inn to celebrate Mark’s birthday. The nestled in their communities. Churches nearly out- dinner special number houses, their whitewashed facades and was lobster, steep spires reaching to the heavens. Everywhere Caesar salad, we go we find friendly locals, and well-manicured veggies, and properties reveal great pride in their homes. baked pota- We drove to North Sydney, where we found toes, all of ample shopping: Canadian Tire, a cross between which were Walmart, Sam’s Club, and Outdoor World; and fantastic. The Atlantic Super Stores, similar to Super Walmarts. Inn was built Then we headed through Barr Strait, along route in the late 223 at the township of Grand Narrows. This route 1800s as a Lynwood Inn would be great for motorcyclists for sure. We end- private home ed up going north on St. Patrick’s Channel before and still retains its 19th-century charm; three up- returning to the campground. A nice drive! per rooms are furnished in period furniture and accessories. The time period corre- sponds to when Baddeck became a tourist destination. With the com- pletion of The Cabot Trail all the way around, Cape Breton is a now a world-famous travel destination. Wednesday, July 13: This day Bridge across Barr Strait at Little Narrows was open, so we all again took off Meanwhile, some others visited the Alexander in several directions. Some drove the entire Cabot Graham Bell National Historic Site. At his summer Trail (187 miles) while others went to points of in- home at Beinn Bhreagh, he continued his scientific terest along it, including Cape Breton Highlands experimentation. He was a pioneer in deaf educa- National Park with its surprising sunbathing beach. tion (his wife Mabel was deaf), and he also made experiments in sound transmission, medicine, space-frame construction, and marine engineering. After our usual end-of-day social hour, some of our group went to an evening Ceilidh at St. Michael’s Hall. with fiddle, piano, and step dancing.

Breton Highlands NP sandy beach We ended up at the Glenora Distillery and toured their small plant, which is only 26 years old but whose products have already won numerous awards for their quality and taste. The distillery uses water from the clear stream that originates in the mountains, and the 10-year-old malt that we sampled was quite good. We purchased a 22-year- old single malt for $130. 17 While we were at the distill- ery, others fanned out to places such as Ingonish, Neil’s Harbor, and Chéticamp. Established as a seasonal fishing station, Chéticamp is one of the Acadian capitals of the world. Following the Great Expulsion The Pied Bagpiper of 1755-1764, many Acadians came to Cape Breton. parking lot by a bagpiper, who led us into the Great The town is famous for its beautiful hooked rugs, Hall of the Clans, playing as he walked. some of which can be found in the White House, Two of the staff then Buckingham Palace, and the Vatican. took us on a historic “journey of the kilt.” They showed us how it was used for work, sleep, dress, and finally in battle. Don volun- teered to be part of the demonstration by being enfolded in an old-style kilt. Then we were intro- duced to Gaelic language Gorgeous Chéticamp hooked rug through a “milling frolic.” A staff member led us in Those who drove the whole Trail had stunning singing a simple Gaelic song views of Cabot Strait to the east and the Gulf of St and keeping time by beat- Lawrence to the west, especially during the many ing wool cloth on a table. Scotsman Don stops for construction! Along with students from all over the globe, we ate lunch in the school cafeteria. We were treated to a ceilidh presented by staff members & students piping, dancing, fiddling, and playing piano. It was fantastic and drew a standing ovation.

Gulf of St Lawrence from the Cabot Trail After a long day sightseeing, the group met for social hour and a great potluck dinner starring lobster mac’n’cheese from Brenda and Richard. Thursday, July 14: After waking up to another sunny day, we set out for the Gaelic College of Highland dancer and bagpiper Celtic Arts and Crafts, a non-profit educational in- After our social hour, we enjoyed a dinner of stitution focused on the perpetuation of Highland lobster croissants from the Big Red Barn down the Scottish Gaelic culture. We were greeted in the road from the campground.

18 Mile 1419, July 15-18: Baddeck to Little Saturday morning, July 16, a number of us drove Bras d’Or, Nova Scotia, to Argentia, to the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site, Newfoundland the largest historical reconstruction in North Ameri- ca. The fortress was originally built to protect and by Bo & Karen deBlieux provide a base for France’s lucrative North Ameri- Friday morning sprinkles were of little worry to can fishery, and to protect Quebec City from British most as we got underway from Baddeck for the invasions. It was captured by the British in 1745 and next leg of our caravan. But Berry’s RV starter again in 1758. After that, the British destroyed the wouldn’t start. Each time he tried, an ignition fuse fortress by burning and explosions to prevent the blew. Johnny, French from returning, as they were establishing Paul, and Tail- their own capital at Halifax. Two hundred years gunner Mark later, partial rebuilding began by the Canadian stayed to help government to preserve early history of the area. troubleshoot When they undertook the reconstruction, there the problem, were still some as the rest of foundations extant the group as well as extensive moved on 38 records of who had miles to Little lived in the fortress Starter problem Bras d’Or. community and Later Friday, Mark and Linda arrived at the how the buildings campground without the Karen and Berry. A had been built. We Freightliner rep had worked on the coach for hours walked around what seemed to be a with no success, and no towing company was will- th ing to tow it to either Havre Boucher or Little Bras thriving 18 - d’Or. At our caravan fried-chicken dinner that century village night, many prayers were said over the Berrys’ protected by a 5- coach. We were especially concerned because we sided fortress and were scheduled to take the overnight ferry to New- 2½ miles of wall. foundland on Sunday. Village life To bring colonial history to life, costumed interpreters interacted with visitors. We saw fishermen, gardeners, servants, boat builders and blacksmiths the powder magazine, the laundry and stables. Period dining was also available in two of the rebuilt buildings, Grand- champ House for working-class fare (soup, bread, cheese, and meat or fish), and Hôtel de la Marine for a more formal three-course meal. Next to the village was the King’s Bastion, where both the soldiers and the King’s representative lived, with barracks, the governor’s apartment, Fortress of Louisbourg guard houses, the military chapel, and 19 soldiers and officers telling stories of military life. the afternoon tailgating in the ferry line as we wait- Within the 5-sided yard, musket and cannon firings ed to board. were held. Loading was quick and effortless, although it felt as though we were driving into the maw of a whale! Our elegant ferry, the MV Atlantic Vision, seemed more like a cruise ship than an ordinary ferry. We watched the ferry depart from the pier, explored up to the 10th deck, and visited the gift shop. The ferry traveled the 325 miles at 22-27 knots, using 7.35 tons of fuel per hour, although we barely noticed moving: before long we found drinks

Cannon firing What an absolutely engrossing and educational way to spend several hours! And when we got back to the campground, we were delighted to learn that Johnny, Carl, and Mark had returned to Baddeck first thing in the morning determined to get Berry and Karen back on the road again – and they did! They were all there in the park. Johnny had systematically pulled out and tested each fuse until he found the one causing the problem. Yay!!! The next day, there was much excitement for In the bar our voyage on the 16-hour overnight ferry from and dinner, and later even dancing to live music. North Sydney to Argentia, Newfoundland. We are We had booked staterooms, and the ship’s gentle losing Karen deBlieux for a while, as she has to go movement rocked us to sleep. home to take care of her mother; she’ll be back after Newfoundland, though. We drove less than We landed in Argentia, Newfoundland, at 10:00 five miles to the ferry terminal, lined up, and spent am Monday morning. Oh, what a night!

Tailgating in the ferry line 20

Mile 1336, July 18-20: Argentia to St John’s, When we got to Cape Spear, the most easterly Newfoundland point in all of North America, it was wreathed in fog so thick that at first we couldn’t see the view or the by Hank & Brenda Landry lighthouse. On Monday, after leaving the ferry that brought us from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland, we drove 80 miles east to St John’s. The capital of and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, “St John’s” commemorates the feast day of John the Baptist, the day John Cabot sailed into the harbor in 1497. He was the first European on North America since around 1000, when Norse Vikings sailed to north- ern Newfoundland. Year-round settlement began around 1630, seasonal visits before that, as Europeans came to the Grand Banks for the fishing. Most easterly point in North America, socked in by fog We camped at one of Canada’s largest urban However, the parks, Pippy Park, a 3,400-acre land reserve within fog began to clear minutes of downtown St John’s. In addition to the and gradually we RV facilities, the park included many hiking trails were able to see and a challenging and rugged 5-mile bicycle track. both the old Cape Gwen’s mother Betty flew in from Nevada and Spear Lighthouse, joined us for the remainder of the caravan. Newfoundland’s oldest surviving Early Tuesday morning we headed out for a lighthouse, built in guided bus tour of St John’s, after we had changed 1836, and the new our watches to Newfoundland time. In Nova Scotia lighthouse, built in we were on Atlantic time, an hour ahead of East 1957 for just such Coast time; Newfoundland is half an hour ahead of foggy days as this. that. Now we’re only 2½ hours behind London! In New Cape Spear Lighthouse fact, we’re now closer to Berlin, Rome, and the Because of its North Pole than we are to Seattle or San Diego. strategic location, gun batteries were placed here during World War II to protect supply ships to Great St John’s history is as a prosperous fishing vil- Britain from U-boat wolf packs. lage. It was the site of many battles between France and Britain for control of the region. On our After Cape Spear, we stopped at two pretty little way to our first stop, Cape Spear, we saw some of inlets, Petty Cove and Quidi Vidi. St John’s unique brightly painted row houses.

Quidi Vidi

Then we went up Signal Hill, where the final North American battle of the Seven Years’ War was Brightly painted row houses fought in 1762. It’s called Signal Hill because of the 21 flag communication captivated by the extraordi- between land and sea nary artistic skill that makes that took place from the bust look as though it is its summit from the covered by a veil. th 17 century until On our last day in St 1960. Cabot Tower John’s we drove out to Bay was built here in 1897 th Bulls for a puffin-and-whale- to celebrate the 400 watch cruise. Our course anniversary of John first took us past the Witless Cabot’s landfall. Bay Ecological Reserve on Cabot Tower It was also here geologically fascinating Gull that in 1901, Guglielmo Marconi received the first Island, which serves as a ever Morse code transatlantic wireless transmis- seasonal home to 2.5 sion, from Cornwall, UK. million birds. We got great The Veiled Virgin From views of the nesting sites of several species such as this vantage Common Murres, Black-Legged Kittiwakes, Black point we Guillemots, Atlantic Puffins, and Razor-Billed Auks. could look out on the city of St John’s down below. Our last stop on the Colorful St John's from Signal Hill tour was at the Basilica of St John the Baptist. The architecture and interior of the Basilica were truly beautiful, Razor-Billed Auks at Witless Bay Reserve As interesting as the birdwatching was, the best part of the boat cruise was seeing more than a dozen humpback whales as they came as close to our boat as 30 yards. At times we saw two together breaching, and each time we saw the iconic shape of the tail flipping above the water, you could hear the gasps and sighs all over the boat.

Basilica of St John the Baptist but the highlight of the visit was the viewing in the Presentation Convent of the marble bust called The Veiled Virgin. This bust was carved around 1850 from a single piece of Carrara marble by the renowned Italian sculptor Giovanni Strazza. It was brought to the Basilica in 1856 and has been on The whale’s tail display in the Convent ever since. We were all Great memories and photos of that day. 22 Mile 1424, July 21-22: St John’s to Our first evening at Bonavista, Newfoundland Paradise Farm, Sean, the owner, came and by Don & Carol Vardell talked to us at some The long travel day from Pippy Park in St. length. That is to say, John’s to Paradise Farm RV Park in Bonavista he’s a “Newfie,” which covered 191 miles. Wagon Master Carl, as usual, means every conversa- proved true to his briefing that the terrain would tion turns into a story, become more rocky with mountainous, two-lane and what a storyteller roads, fewer and stunted balsam fir and spruce he was! He gave us a trees (called “tuckamore”) because the soil is so rambling, hilarious thin over the rock. account of how he came to own the RV Population is much less dense. Coastal villages Sean telling stories park and what improve- are small and quaint with colorful houses, shops, ments he’s made and plans to make, with many and fishing boats. Passing landscape continues digressions. We were spellbound. memorable with beautiful ponds around every turn. Roadside power poles often are supported at Sean had heard there are fishing enthusiasts in the bottom by a square wood fence filled with our group and said that he has a friend who could stones for bracing, as the poles often cannot be set take eight people out early tomorrow morning to deep in the ground because of the rock base in fish for cod, and eight people promptly signed up. Newfoundland (a/k/a “The Rock”). A fish fry is planned for tomorrow night. Our visit to Bonavista comes at Leg 15, so all 37 of our caravan members have become good travel- ing buddies. At first learning all the names was a little confusing because we have two Lindas, two Brendas, two Karens, two Carols, two Richards, and three Johns. But now we are well acquainted.

Johnny & Linda on nighttime ride

Lucy, Brenda, Hank, Linda & Mark Later that evening, Johnny was talking with Sean enjoying one another’s company about vehicles, and it ended up that Johnny and Linda went out on motorcycles with Sean and his Members have been mixing up their car pooling to girlfriend Katrina. They also took a ride with them attractions, and the travel groups are scrambled on four-wheelers around his extensive property and each time we move, which contributes to good up a mountain to look down on Bonavista at night. camaraderie. Social hours are relaxed and well attended, a wide range of topics is discussed, Friday morning, those of us not fishing set out to movies are exchanged (TV is scarce), and humor explore Bonavista and the surrounding area. Cape and ribbing abound. It’s a comfortable time for Bonavista Lighthouse Provincial Historic Site winding down with snacks and beverages before provided fascinating geology—hard igneous and soft dinner, plus lots of after-dinner visiting at Mr. and sedimentary rock—views of humpback whales off Mrs. Wagon Master’s patio. the coast, and puffins perched on the rocks, 23 And down the road from that is another pro- vincial park called Dungeon. Here we saw a sea cave whose roof had collapsed inland to produce this unique feature called a “gloup.”

Puffins on the rocks as well as the most photographed lighthouse in Newfoundland.

Dungeon gloup Back in town, most of us visited the full-scale replica of Ye Matthew, the little ship that brought Cabot and his crew across the uncharted Atlantic to the “New Founde Lands.” It was housed in an indoor dry- dock, and we were able to climb around on most of it. It’s amazing that anyone Richard, Piper & Timmy would think at Cape Bonavista Lighthouse about setting out as they did Nearby is a across the commemoration undiscovered Ye Matthew mast area of what is thought ocean, but at that time these wooden sailing ships to be the very were the height of advanced technology. spot where John Also in town, some of us had a traditional Cabot and his Newfie lunch at Mifflin Tea Room: fisherman’s crew stepped brewis (pronounced “brews”), which is codfish ashore as the first and hard bread mixed with fried onions and pork Europeans to land scrunchions (small, crisp pieces of fried pork fat); in the New World. fish cakes made from salt cod, onions, and The wide beach potatoes, mashed together and fried; a touton, and long vista (pronounced “TOW (as in cow) tin”), a yeast make it possible dough pan-fried to a golden brown, eaten dipped to imagine that in molasses, delicious; rhubarb compote; baked day in 1497, over beans; and thick-sliced bologna, which seems to Statue of John Cabot 500 years ago. be a staple here. 24 Several Back at Paradise Farm RV Park, the fishing crew nearby had returned triumphant! At first success eluded towns had them; the captain had forgotten to charge his fish interesting finder overnight, so his fish-finding ability was things to wholly based on his 30-plus years of experience. see. The However, the last 45 minutes were fast and town of furious as they finally got Elliston is into a school of cod and known for everyone caught at least Newfie sampler its root one fish on their 2-hook cellars; the hand jigs. Carol logged little doors in hillsides are a common sight. A well- three fish, one a keeper; tended root cellar kept a crop of summer root Don caught two keepers vegetables from freezing or rotting over the on one pull, plus another; winter. In Elliston you can also sit and watch and the remaining 11 were multitudes of sea birds on Bird Island, where they caught by the other seven have come to nest during the summer breeding (Carl, Mark, Brenda, Scott, season to lay eggs and to raise their chicks. John, Johnny, and Berry) to make our boat limit of 15. Don with his double catch So that evening we had a great fish fry, with Carl and Mark manning the griddles; the codfish cheeks and tongues, considered a delicacy by Newfies, were particularly delicious. The rest of us contributed plentiful side dishes. Linda and Johnny

Puffins on Bird Island

Port Union is the only union-built town in North America, founded in 1910 by William Ford Coaker as the headquarters of the Fishermen’s Protective Union. To advance the cause of fair compensation for fisherman, he published a newspaper called The Advocate, and the antique printing equipment is still there to see.

Don, Carl, Mark, Betty, Hank & Brenda at the fish feast had run into the Mayor of Bonavista, Betty Fitz- gerald, earlier in the day at Ye Matthew and had invited her to our fish fry. She came and greeted us warmly, even bringing a Bonavista lapel pin for each of us. Sean capped off our repast by treating us to shots of Sour Puss raspberry liqueur and Cabot Tower 100-proof Demerara rum. What a day, what an evening, and what a feast! especially delightful because it was unscheduled and spontaneous. Thanks, Carl, for making it Printing machinery possible. We feel ourselves to be very blessed. 25 Mile 1608, July 23-25: Bonavista to Some people slept in a Lewisporte, Newfoundland bit longer before going about the day’s activi- by Richard and Brenda Hitt ties. Some drove up the 7-23 Saturday – It was a windy morning with a peninsula to the very cloud-covered sky when we left Paradise Farm RV small town of Little Park heading west and then northwest. Travel Burnt Bay; Evie and Group 3 had the pleasure of seeing a couple of Scott were lucky to see moose not too long after leaving the park. The sun a moose on that drive. gradually showed itself during the morning, until Others took different we had full sunshine about halfway into the 186- routes, but all saw very mile trip. As we got closer to Woolfrey’s Pond Spotted sandpiper pretty scenery in the Campground in Lewisporte, the sun departed and with its breakfast small coastal towns. clouds again filled the sky. Several headed for ser- vices in a couple of the churches in the town. Oth- The entire trip was very windy, with the RVs ers took the time to wash their clothes in the local getting blown around quite a bit. They say you can laundromat. After some rain, the weather cleared experience all four seasons in a day here in New- up and turned into a partly sunny afternoon, and foundland! Unfortunately, Patrick and Carol’s toad some of our group washed their RVs and cars. had a flat in Gander due to coming too close to a curb and breaking off the tire sensor, but fortunately the sensor alarmed immediately, Jim and Lida stayed to assist in putting on the spare, and they were able to get the tire fixed at Canadian Tire and continue on their way – and then they saw a black bear scampering off into the woods, which was exciting (no photo). A late afternoon rain came Lockheed Hudson bomber down, so social hour was held in the campground’s rec hall. Several drove back to Gander to visit the North Atlantic Aviation Muse- 7-24 Sunday – The electricity um, which did a good job of telling the for the campground and the whole local story of aviation. Gander was town was shut down for planned selected by the British as an airbase in maintenance from 6:00-11:00 am, the 1930s for its strategic location and so we did not have the breakfast the low incidence of fog in the area. that Carl, Gwen, Mark, and Linda During WWII, 10,000 Canadian, British, were planning to cook for the cara- and American military personnel lived van. We eagerly await their “camp in Gander. The area became a strategic stuff” breakfast! post for the Royal Air Force Ferry Today was a free day. Early Command, providing convoy escort and birds Gale, Cheryl and Brenda coastal patrol aircraft, and servicing walked the 2.5 km boardwalk approximately 20,000 fighters and around Woolfrey’s Pond, spotting bombers stopping at Gander en route many common terns, gulls, a couple to Europe. There were vintage aircraft of loons, and a spotted sandpiper inside and outside the museum. grubbing for breakfast. Cheryl & Gale on early walk 26 We learned that after WWII, Gander served 248 members of the 101st Airborne Division as a refueling stop for many countries, including Screaming Eagles returning from a peacekeeping Iron Curtain countries. Eventually they had to mission on the Sinai Peninsula. After the aircraft build a fence around the landing strip because so was refueled, it gained little altitude and then many flight crew members from Communist crashed, and all aboard died, including a friend of countries defected during refueling stops. Merlin’s. It remains the worst air disaster ever on Perhaps the most Canadian soil. poignant exhibit was The Memorial shows an American soldier the one describing standing atop a massive rock holding the hands of Operation Yellow a boy and girl. Each child holds an olive branch Ribbon. This town of representing the Division’s peacekeeping mission. 10,000 people took The three stand surrounded by the trees, hills, and care of 6,700 passen- rocks of the actual Arrow Air Crash site, overlook- gers from 42 flights ing Gander Lake in the direction of Fort Campbell. that were diverted to These natural surroundings are the “silent wit- Gander on September nesses” of the moment when 256 dreams ended. 11, 2001. Residents of Gander and several surrounding towns volunteered to house, outfit, feed, and en- tertain the stranded travelers for over a week. Part of a steel beam from the Twin Towers On display were part of a steel beam from the Twin Towers and hundreds of letters Merlin at Silent Witness Memorial from those stranded and cared for, as well as from admirers of Gander from all over the world. In the evening, we carpooled to a caravan- sponsored dinner theater at Lewisporte Heritage Center. After dinner of salmon or chicken, we saw the very powerful play “Blind Faith,” which was performed by students on summer break. The play was about a young couple who were separated by WWI. The young man was a soldier, talking with his buddies in the New- foundland Letters of thanks to Gander Regiment during the After the Museum, we visited the nearby hours be- Silent Witness Memorial, a tranquil park dedicat- fore they ed to the memory of 256 individuals who lost were killed their lives in the crash of Arrow Air MF128 on in the fate- December 12, 1985. This was a charter flight on ful battle of the last leg of its route from Cairo, Egypt, to Fort Beaumont- Campbell KY, carrying eight crew members and Hamel, WWI soldiers just before the battle 27 when the Newfoundland Regiment was almost craft of Newfoundland. Women would make them wiped out in less than three hours. Of the 778 men from narrow strips of whatever fabric they had who went “over the top” to try to retake control of (including discarded silk stockings), skillfully hook- the River Somme, only 68 responded to roll call the ing strips through rough canvas to make fine, next morning; 386 were wounded, and 324 were colorful, artistic floor coverings for the cold winters. killed or missing and presumed dead. We were fortunate to meet Joan Foster, co- This momentous battle took place 100 years founder of the Rug Hooking Guild of Newfoundland ago this month and still looms large in the psyche and Labrador and one of Newfoundland’s premier of Newfoundland and Labrador. After the play we mat designers and “hookers,” demonstrating the asked the young actors if before the play they had craft of mat hooking. already known the story of Beaumont-Hamel, and they all nodded vigorously. The events of that day are forever seared into the cultural memory of Newfoundland and Labrador. 7-25 Monday – The group woke up to an over- cast sky with some fog, but it turned into a sunny day in the low-to-mid 70s with very light wind. Another beautiful day. Don and Carol’s motorhome suffered from a bad alternator, but Don was able to find a place in Grand Falls-Windsor to diagnose the problem, obtain the part, and have the prob- lem fixed all in one day. Don missed out on the Joan Foster, master hooker, demonstrating mat-making day’s adventures but was back for the social hour and movement orders, to the cheers of the group. Some also went up to the Long Point light- house, which offers a beautiful view of the The rest of us carpooled Atlantic. The lighthouse went into operation to Twillingate for a 1:00 pm in 1876 and cruise in search of icebergs is still and whales. Twillingate was staffed by a settled about 1700 by the keeper. The French and became the main current sig- commercial base in the area. nature of Since we were early for the the light is a cruise, several of the group white flash went to the Twillingate Muse- every five um, housed in the former An- seconds, glican Rectory. while the The rooms show antique fog horn furniture, china, needlework, sounds a Long Point Lighthouse and kitchen implements, as four-second well as artifacts of the indige- blast each minute, when needed. Four small nous culture, clothing, and a icebergs could be seen in the distance from library of books and personal the lighthouse with binoculars. diaries dating to the 1700s. In Richard, Brenda, and Carol decided to an upstairs room we found explore the fishing pier, where they met the examples of hooked rugs, or owner of a medium-sized fishing boat. He “mats” as they’re called. Mat- explained that his boat fishes for snow crab making is an iconic traditional “Three Saltboxes” by Joan Foster with the circular traps that are connected 28 maybe 50-60 to a long line, with a float on each However, we did spot several whales and saw them end. When they are brought up, each trap is surface many times, but we never saw one raise its emptied of its catch and then stacked on the deck. tail out of the water, let alone breach. The larger When all traps are up, they are then all baited again one was a fin whale, one of the largest whale and put back in the water. species, and the smaller one a minke whale. It was a disappointment not to see an iceberg, but we had a beautiful, calm day on the water.

Explanation of snow crab fishing Patrick, Hank, Janie, Linda, Mark & Merlin They also fish for cod with a gillnet and for After getting back to other fish, depending on what licenses they can the dock, we participated in obtain. The price they receive for their catches has a Newfoundland tradition either gone down or stayed the same as 20-30 called a Screech-In, where- years ago, so it is difficult to make a living fishing. by we all recited some The larger boats at the pier drag for shrimp with Newfoundland phrases, long nets and weighted drawers which are then then “kissed a cod” and hoisted aboard by large wenches. downed a shot of rum to We boarded the Iceberg Quest at 1:00 pm for a become Honorary New- two-hour cruise. The boat was not allowed to go foundlanders. We even farther than five miles off shore, and we were have the certificates to unable to see any icebergs within that area. prove it! Judy kissing the cod

Screecher wannabes downing a shot of rum 29 Mile 1816, July 26-28: Lewisporte to Rocky There were many Harbor, Newfoundland exhibits of other in- sects from around by Johnny and Linda Leggett the world. But the We arrived at Gros Morne RV Campground on butterfly exhibit, with the west coast of Newfoundland around noon and specimens of all immediately set up our rigs. The work is done types, stole the quickly and expediently now, as we have been on show. The best part Bee Highway the Caravan for over five weeks and have done this of the Insectarium is repeatedly. We came from all over the country and walking through the from different backgrounds and experiences, and door into the butterfly we learn the skills of RVing from one another. As conservatory full of soon as the rigs are set up, everyone splits up and real live butterflies, goes their separate ways to do shopping, laundry, and you’re taken back and of course exploring. to younger years and happier times. The Our campground is surrounded by Gros Morne butterflies are all National Park, a World Heritage Site, and there are around; they land on Butterfly so many things to do and see here. The name of you, stay a while, and then fly away. the park comes from Gros Morne Mountain, (French for “large mountain standing alone”), Several of the group drove to Trout River for a which is one of the Long Range Mountains, a con- good meal at the Seaside Restaurant. The food is tinuation of the Appalachians. awesome, especially the scallops, and the service is slow as it is in all Newfoundland restaurants. New- fies love to talk, especially to strangers so they can share their stories or wisdom as it happens to roll off their tongue. Others went to Gros Morne Wild- life Museum and to the iron Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse, activated in 1898.

Gros Morne Mountain An unexpected rain shower prevented our 5:00 pm social hour. It rained all night, so that our scheduled boat tour of Western Brook Pond had to be postponed a day. The rain eased up some during the morning, and the group scattered in several different directions pursuing optional activities. The Insectarium in nearby Reidville seemed to us like a good place to spend a rainy day. The three -story building was filled with all types of insects. An operating honeybee hive gave us insight into the workings of the hive. The bees enter and exit Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse the building via a clear plastic tube with a miniature highway constructed in it, although the busy bees The Wagon Master and Tail Gunner made chili mainly ignore the road signs. for the group for supper, served in a small pavilion 30 in the RV The boat park. Carl went slowly made white along the chili, Mark 1800-foot- made red, tall cliffs Linda made while we some really awed at the good corn- scenery and bread, and took count- there were less photos. Wagon Master Carl dishes up chili tons of deserts. Clear, clear water The boat Thursday crew explained how the cliffs were formed: 400 mil- started a lion years ago, the ocean plate collided with and bit foggy, obducted over the continental plate, and the ocean but we floor was pushed up on top of the continental were able plate. The rock we were looking at is granitic gneiss, to take the oldest rock on the Island of Newfoundland our boat (about 1.25 billion years old). tour on Western Brook Pond in Patrick on boardwalk through the Gros the bog & “tuckamore” Morne National Park. From the parking lot we hiked 2.5 km on gravel and boardwalk through a bog to the boat terminal. The reason for the bog is because there’s so much rain, and evaporation is slow; mosses grow on the wet soil and pile up to form a Granite cliffs spongy peat that soaks up ever more water. The As we cruised along, the crew pointed out dif- peat bog spreads into surrounding woodland, tree ferent features for us, including numerous water- roots drown, and the forest disappears into bog. falls, some from the top of the cliffs. We arrived at a modern boat terminal with We reached the far food and souvenirs. The boat arrived, discharged its end of the pond, where passengers, and was efficiently loaded with a new there’s a small dock group just as the low clouds were dissipating. where adventurous hikers The full boat pulled briskly away from the dock can get off the boat and and headed directly for the gap between the cliffs. hike their way back over It’s called a “pond,” but it’s actually a fresh-water the trackless mountains, fjord carved out by glaciers during the most recent which takes about three ice age, from 25,000 to about 10,000 years ago. days. We were happy to Once the glaciers melted, the land, which had been take the boat back along pushed down by the weight of the ice, rebounded, the other side of the and the outlet to the sea was cut off. The 19-mile- pond and viewing an long narrow pond then filled in with fresh water. equally impressive num- The water in the fjord is extremely pure; no camp- ber of cliffs, waterfalls, ing or casual boating is allowed, and the entire Na- etc. As we were nearing tional Park area comprises its own watershed. the end of the ride, the One of many waterfalls 31 crew put on traditional music and we were enter- tained with playing of the spoons and dancing calcium, high in iron, very high in magnesium, and impromptu jigs. has toxic amounts of heavy metals, so plants can’t grow. Most of us stopped for ice cream on the ride back to the camp-ground. Social hour was late but happy as always. It Buzzing the campground was interrupted about halfway through when a sea plane made several passes at the campground. It turned out Patrick and Carol had de- cided that the best way to see this stunning National The Tablelands Park was from the They saw other striking elements from the air: air and hired a float plane and pilot to take them for a Patrick & Carol ready to fly flight. First they flew up the Western Brook Pond and were astonished to find the plateau on the top dotted with many, many ponds. New- foundland is not nicknamed “The Rock” for nothing! The soil is so thin and the rock so impermeable that Norris Point water just sits Norris Point, Bonne Bay, Green Gardens, the cara- where it lands. van campground! and the endlessly fascinating, With all those variable coastline. ponds, it was easy to see why we saw so many water- falls flowing down Pond on the plateau feeding the cliffs. a waterfall Next they flew over The Tablelands, which look like a barren desert, so different from the rest of Newfoundland. They are made of igneous peridotite rock which originated in the Earth’s mantle and was forced up from the depths during the plate collision. The reason almost nothing grows on The Tablelands is because peridotite is low in silica, very low in Gros Morne coastline 32 Mile 2034, July 29-31: Rocky Harbor to Bonet tile murals that depict the lives of the people St Anthony, Newfoundland of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was well worth the few minutes it took to enjoy them. by Scott and Evelyn Mattheus Saturday was an unscheduled day for the cara- Friday, July 29, day 41, 1800 miles into our van, and again the members went in many direc- journey through the Maritimes. We left Rocky tions, there was so much to see. Some went to Harbor for our 211-mile drive north to St Anthony. Labrador, some to L’Anse aux Meadows, some on a We drove through torrential rain on one of the whale-watching and iceberg boat tour, and some bumpiest, most pot-holed roads we have yet to the Grenfell Visitor Center and Grenfell home. endured. The rain was so heavy we weren’t able to enjoy the beautiful scenery that we are used to The people going to Labrador left at 5:00 in the seeing while traveling. When we got to our camp- morning for a 90-minute drive to the ferry across ground, everyone was a little tired and grumpy! the Strait of Belle Isle and were treat- St Anthony is a ed to many moose picturesque fishing sightings on the village dating back to way: 21 in 25 miles! th the 16 century and Until now we’ve the most northerly been disappointed point on our journey. about how few It has the requisite moose we’ve seen, Moose by the road lighthouse and beauti- but now we know we were just looking at the ful views of the ocean wrong time of day. that we so enjoy. It was a long day; the ferry ride itself took near- Since it was a travel ly two hours each way. Paul and Melody were day, no group activities drawn to the relics of many shipwrecks on the were planned. Every- shore. Merlin found the trip interesting, and along one went their own with Alan and Judy he enjoyed seeing the second- way to explore the tallest lighthouse in Canada. area. Scott and Evelyn Fishing Point Lighthouse went to the lighthouse to look at the ocean and hope to spot a whale. They met a lady who said she was from St Anthony but had been away for 52 years, didn’t say why. She scooted Evelyn, literally, to another point where there was quite a show of dolphins feeding. They watched for at least 45 minutes as the dolphins fed on the fish. They also visited the hospital to see the Jordi

Jordi Bonet tile mural Point Amour Lighthouse 33 The Burial Site at L’Anse Amour fascinated all Scott and Evelyn and many others spent several who stopped there. This was the burial site of a hours at L’Anse aux Meadows, the first verified child who died 7,000 years ago. The site, found by Viking settlement in North America, discovered in archeologists in 1973, was marked by a mound of 1960. A thousand years ago, an expedition from rocks and contained the incomplete skeleton of a Greenland landed here and built a substantial camp child about 12 years old as well as a stone knife, a from which they explored southward. Next to the decorated bone pendant, a walrus tusk, bone and site of the relics of the camp, sod structures that stone projectile points, a whistle made from a you can go inside of have been recreated. hollow bird bone, and a decorated antler section.

Recreated sod structure Close to the sea route to Green Skeleton of 12-year-old from 7,000 years ago -land, sod houses were built with Berry and Karen stopped along the way and large storerooms spoke with a lady who was drying cod. Carl, Gwen, to withstand the and Betty drove all the way to Red Bay, the center winter storms. By of Basque whale hunting (for the oil) in the 1500s. over-wintering All agreed the trip was worth it so they could say here, Norse could they went through a bit of Quebec to see Labrador. gather lumber On the drive back from the ferry, several car- (there was none in pools stopped at Flower’s Cove to see the extremely Greenland) and rare thrombolite mounds on the beach. They are other trade goods, large bun-shaped rocks formed of the earth’s most repair boats, and return home in primitive life forms, which were the only known Chic costume choice, Paul form of life from 3.5 billion to 650 million years ago. early summer. These formations were There were costumed created when microbes in reenactors who were both the ancient Iapetus Ocean well informed and also photosynthesized their funny in interacting with food. Because the water us, as well as Norse cloth- near the shore contained ing that we could try on. calcium carbonate from The best part of the limestone rocks, this photo- tour was when Scott synthetic process created looked up and saw a the unusual formations. moose. Everyone on the The only other place on tour was excited as they earth they have been found watched her walk across is in Shark Bay, Western the meadow. Australia. John examining the thrombolites 34 Other members of the group took another Mile 2251, August 1-3: St Anthony back to whale- and iceberg-watching boat tour. Bo said it Rocky Harbor and then Doyles Station, was one of the best of the caravan. Besides fin and Newfoundland, and the day ferry to Sydney, Nova Scotia by Mark and Linda Avey Leg 19 was a travel day back down the Viking Trail from St Anthony to Gros Morne RV Park in Rocky Harbor, Newfoundland. Our first travel group started early on a cold, cloudy morning, but later the weather improved. It was a long travel day of Whales! 211 miles that put the last group in Gros Morne in humpback midafternoon. There was a 45-minute stretch of whales, they road that we had to drive at speeds sometimes saw many below 35 MPH to avoid the potholes. But everyone species of arrived safely. We were just in this park July 26-28, birds, a huge so the park and the surroundings were familiar. iceberg, ice floats, dol- Those who arrived in the earlier travel groups phins, and had a little time in the afternoon to explore some more. Several went to a small fish camp within Gros harp seals. Huge iceberg Morne National Park. A NP guide, a part-time NP Grenfell guide, and a full-time fisherman explained the pro- Visitor Cen- cess of the family fishing enterprise in the 1900s ter had an until the cod ran out. exhibit on Sir Wilfred The buildings Grenfell, a consisted of a small doctor who summer cottage, a came to fish processing Newfound- building with fish Seals on ice land and storage on the Labrador to provide medical services for coastal second floor, an inhabitants and fishermen. He opened a mission outhouse, and a and numerous schools, orphanages, and hospitals. ramp for taking the He also promoted cottage industries – weaving, boats out as there was no harbor for dying, toy making, ivory carving, and mat hooking – National Park guides that improved the economic life of the community. them. The three brothers who had operated the camp during the The people of Newfoundland are a very rugged summer cod run sold the land and buildings to the people who live on a very rugged island that is a big Park Service and donated the contents of the camp. rock carved by the glaciers. All the Newfies we met So it was a very authentic fish camp, not restored were friendly and most enjoyable to talk with. One or reconstructed, making the exhibit informative charming habit they have is calling even total and authentic. strangers endearments such as “my darling” and “sweetheart” and “dearest one.” Sometimes we Others ventured to Green Point to see the didn’t really understand what they were saying, scientifically significant geology there. The cliffs at though, even though they were speaking English, Green Point form a section 60 meters thick com- because of the heavy accents and pronunciation posed of layers of shale and limestone, and those and the Newfie sayings. layers have been tipped over 60-70 degrees by 35 tectonic movement. The oldest rocks are to the Leg 20 was another travel day, southbound right, and as you walk north along the section, the down the coast on Highway 1 from Gros Morne RV layers of rock you see get younger and younger. Park to Grand Codroy Campground in Codroy, New- foundland. Another early start to travel 187 miles in The layers can be seen clearly. There are thou- gorgeous weather on good highway. The trip began sands of them, and they were laid down one at a with mountainous travel up steep hills and down time by the conditions of their time. steep grades. Low gears and low speed were musts. We hadn’t traveled this part of the road before, and the terrain and scenery were spectacular. Grand Codroy Campground was a nice park, but no sewer hookups and Wi-Fi nearly nonexistent. There wasn’t much to do in the immediate area, so some folks drove 40 minutes down to Port aux Basques (pronounced Port-a-bask) or on further to the town of Rose Blanche. Rose Blanche was a cod- fishing village settled in 1810. The Rose Blanche Lighthouse was in Carol with shale & limestone layers operation from 1873 to the 1940s What’s unique about this rock formation is that and was one of it contains the first appearance on earth of the the few built of fossil of an eel-like critter called a conodont. On the granite, which time scale of the planet, any one species lasts a came from a short span of time, say a few million years. As the quarry located species come and go, their fossilized remains just below. After become markers for the time in which they lived. the 1940s, it fell The appearance of this conodont 492 million years into ruins but was ago marks the boundary between the Cambrian fully restored in and Ordovician time periods, that moment in time the 1990s. It’s has been officially designated “Green Point Time.” amazing how all That evening, Wagon Master Carl surprised the the lighthouses are Rose Blanche Lighthouse group by ordering nine moose-meat pizzas for so different! combined social hour, travel meeting, and dinner. After dinner a local Some of us had band came to the park to never tried entertain us. They were a moose meat duo with a guitar and an before and may accordion, playing and have thought we singing traditional New- never would. We foundland story-telling found the meat ballads that had everyone strongly flavored clapping and singing and lean, but the along. The park owner pizza was great brought in a Newfound- overall and got a land “Ugly Stick” for us to round of ap- play along with the music. Carol & Judy choose their moose pizza plause. It was fun and also quite Early to bed, for the next leg would be a long funny to watch many play the “Ugly Stick.” drive also. Linda with the Ugly Stick 36 The duo played contin- Mile 3070, August 3-5: Day Ferry to Little uously for two hours Bras d’Or to Debert, Nova Scotia and received a standing ovation at the end. Betty by Bill and Karen Berry was persuaded to pose August 4, 2016 with the squeeze box This was a day with no planned activities for the and couldn’t help play- caravan as a group, so we all scattered in several ing it a little. different directions. Those who had not visited the The park owners gave Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site on our each member present a first stay here (which was previously very well re- Newfoundland pin, and viewed by Bo and Karen on our first stop at Arm of Wagon Master Carl then Gold Campground) went to see it today. presented the owners (Speaking of Bo and Karen, last night Bo picked and the band members up Karen from the airport. We were so glad to have Betty and the squeezebox with a SMART Maritime her back with us!) Caravan pin as well. Late to bed, but the fun was well worth it. We took a quick one-hour walking tour, where our tour guide pointed out the highlights of the Leg 21 was the short(er) ferry ride from New- fortress. There were at least 13 of us who ate at foundland to Nova Scotia. We left as one group for Grandchamp, the working-class tavern, where most the 40-minute drive to the Port aux Basque ferry enjoyed a very good haddock dinner. Carl, Berry, terminal, leaving behind the granite cliffs of New- Gwen, and Linda also raved about the mussels. foundland, “The Rock.” Everything was eaten with a spoon off of pewter dishes, with a large bib tied around our necks.

Leaving “The Rock” Once underway, the ocean was calm and the skies were beautiful. Some of us went forward to Mark, Jim, Lida, Doris, Herb, Linda see the view from the bow, and a few saw whales. lunching at Grandchamp The overnight ferry that brought us to New- Several of our group visited the Cape Breton foundland on July 17 runs only during the summer Miner’s Museum in Glace Bay. The Museum pays months, and then sits in the harbor over the winter. tribute to the region’s long and rich history of coal But this ferry between Newfoundland and Nova mining. We saw a small mine company village in- Scotia runs twice a day, 365 days a year. A crew cluding the “company” store, duplex homes, bak- member told us they were once stranded in the ice ery, and an operating restaurant (where we ate for five days until an icebreaker rescued the ship. lunch later, enjoying fish and chips and mussels). The ship docked at 6:00 pm, after a 6½-hour After visiting the village, they toured the muse- transit, and we were off the ship within half an um containing videos, many mining tools, and a full hour. Since we arrived so late at the campground, portrayal of mining in Cape Breton. Then they went there was no social hour or planned activity. down into the mine, which originally extended 37 seven miles out under melon/ prosciutto the ocean. We fol- appetizer, to com- lowed the vein of coal plement the Italian into the mine about meal. After the 300 yards long and 85 dinner, we donned feet deep. The vein our caravan jackets varied from 5’6” to and Paul took a 4’6,” and while Carol group photo. could walk through with ease, Bo had to August 5, 2016 bend over a lot. Today was another The Cape Breton Some of our miners: Bo, Karen, John, Lucy, Judy, Allen windy travel day coal veins extend for 40- back to Debert, which we some miles around the coast and contain millions had visited in July. This was a change from the origi- of tons of coal still, after hundreds of years of min- nal plan because the ferry to Prince Edward Island ing. All the coal mines are now shut down. is not in operation right now. But there were no Another venue popular with our group was the complaints from anyone, since we were able to Cape Breton Fossil Center. The rock formations that return to Masstown Market and Catch of the Bay yielded the millions Seafood to replenish our supply of seafood pie and of tons of coal con- chowder mix. tain plant fossils We were again greeted at Elm River RV Park by from the Permian Austin, who seems to really enjoy escorting each rig period, 355 million to its site, complete with a narration of all the years ago. park’s amenities and facilities. We each had dinner Richard and on our own and began preparing for our drive the “Stone Salad,” fossils of 4 Brenda decided the next day to the province of Prince Edward Island. plant types in one rock Breton Brewing August 6, 2016 Company would be an excellent spot to spend We traveled 133 miles today to a KOA near some time, while Paul, Melody, John, Janie, Patrick, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. We crossed and Carol made their way to a theater to see the into PEI via the Confederation Bridge. At about 8 latest Star Trek movie. miles long, it is the world’s longest span over ice- Most of us were especially glad to make trips to covered waters. Sobey’s and Walmart to restock. Large stores have Thankfully, no ice today, and the winds were been few and far between the last few weeks, so Sobey’s was a very welcome sight. Our caravan lead- ers served us a great spaghetti dinner, complete with bread and salad (thank you Mark, Linda, Carl, and Gwen!). Melody and Paul also brought sangria and a tasty Maritimes caravan group after spaghetti dinner 38 not too bad as we drove across the bridge. As we Mile 3203, August 6-9: Debert NS to reached PEI, our views of the past few weeks of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island rocky coastlines were replaced by rolling hills, farmland, and cows. by Carol and Patrick Hill On Saturday we drove 133 miles to our fourth and final province on this caravan: Prince Edward Island. Our amazing fair weather continues to hold: we’ve not had to cancel anything because of bad weather, and the one time we had to postpone (Gros Morne), we ended up going at a better time. Carl and the parking crew (Gwen, Scott, Evie, John, Lucy, and Merlin) performed their usual mas- The rolling green fields of PEI terful job of getting us all parked quickly and easily. We deeply appreciate their efforts every time we After our social hour, we scattered for dinner move (especially Merlin’s proficiency in placing the on our own and to plan our stops for the next three orange cones). days in Charlottetown.

Social hour Carl directing the troops

This was our very first caravan, so we didn’t We started exploring the area as soon as we got now quite what to expect. To say it has far exceed- to our campground, as ed our expectations is a gross understatement. We usual. The first foray honestly don’t think we could have had a better was to the Car Life Wagon Master than Carl/Gwen, or a better Tailgun- Museum, with 20+ ner than Mark/Linda. The restored ’50s-’70s trip was so well planned antique cars including and organized, and we a 1959 Cadillac that thoroughly enjoyed each was owned by Elvis of our many tours and Presley, as well as outstanding meals. We tractors and farm were also blessed to have equipment. Car Life Museum, Elvis & John a great group of fellow - but which is which? We had our usual travelers. We have en- delightful social hour that evening, and then in the joyed meeting and morning we were treated to the breakfast concoc- getting to know each one tion that our Wagon Masters and Tail Gunners had of them. Hard to believe been promising: pancakes + an eggy mixture served we are so close to the in bowls. Dee-licious! and much appreciated by end of our trip. Berry & Karen everyone. 39 representatives from the Province of Canada dominated the conference, overshadowing the con- cerns of the Maritimes and laying out foundations for the union that benefited them the most. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick went along, but PEI did not accept the terms of union and decided not to join, instead remaining a colony of the United King- dom. Several years later they were able to secure terms more favorable to PEI and entered the Confederation on Canada Day 1873. We drove by the waterfront, where we saw the big year numbers that are updated every year and

Time for breakfast!

Then we all fanned out for some serious sight- seeing. Carol had organized a 6-person tour van to take her and Patrick, Allen and Judy, and Berry and Karen around the island on a 5-hour tour. Doug took us up and down the streets of Charlottetown (named for Queen Charlotte, King George III’s wife), On the waterfront filling us in on the island’s history and the sights we were seeing. the Queen The island was named in 1798 for the fourth Charlotte son of King George III (and the father of Queen Armoury, Victoria), Prince Edward, then commanding the which had British troops in displays Halifax. The dedicated capital city of to the PEI, Charlotte- memory town is called of those the “Birthplace who have of Confedera- served in tion” because it the Prince hosted the Edward WWII memorial at Charlottetown Island Regiment. Queen Charlotte Armoury Conference PEI’s shape is that of a parenthesis lying on its John Hamilton Gray of PEI that ended up back, with the ends pointing east and west. Doug talking confederation with creating the John Hamilton Gray of New Brunswick drove us across the island, from Charlottetown on nation of Cana- the south curve to the north shore. The landscape da in 1867. We saw an interesting sculpture of two we drove through was gently pastoral, as farming is of the founding fathers engaged in discussion, both a major sector of the economy. Rolling hills, woods, of them coincidentally named John Hamilton Gray. and red soil (from sandstone) make Prince Edward The conference was originally planned as a Island a province of outstanding natural beauty. meeting of representatives from the Maritime On the way we passed the lovely Governor’s colonies to discuss union, but the Province of House, the official residence of the Lieutenant Canada (present-day Ontario and Quebec) asked Governor, who is the personal representative of that the agenda be expanded to include them. The Queen Elizabeth in the Province. 40 with classy items for sale, almost like an art gallery, with a café and picturesque garden with interesting sculptures. The Dunes Governor’s House Meanwhile, other caravan members When we got to the north shore, we found a were having adven- different environment: brick-red sandstone cliffs tures at the many interesting places on PEI, both that day and the next. Bo and Don played at one of the numerous golf courses on the island. Most everyone took a stroll around the very walkable Charlotte- Bo hits a hole in one (almost) and sandy beaches with lots of sunbathers. town and saw several wonderful churches, including St Paul’s Anglican Church and St Dunstan’s Basilica,

Sandstone cliffs & sandy beaches Unfortunately, PEI is shrinking. Erosion is wear- ing away the cliffs and beaches at a rate of about three feet each year due to rising seas, the decline Interior of St Dunstan’s Basilica of winter ice, and greater surges from ever-bigger storms. According to researchers at the University lots of streetside dining, Victoria Park with its of PEI and Simon Fraser University, over the next 90 free Summer Concert Series, years at least 1,000 homes are likely to disappear into the ocean, along with 17 lighthouses, 146 commercial buildings, and $45 million in roads. From there we stopped at a retail establish- ment called The Dunes, which was not a typical tourist souvenir joint but a beautiful structure Victoria Park entrance 41 and more free music provided by the Voices of a tempting Canada, an energetic group of young people who selection of were performing a show about Canada in an desserts in- amphitheater of the Centre for the Arts. cluding Mile- High Lemon Meringue pie. Clearly our group is not tired of lobster yet!

Lida & Jim lovin’ their lobster

Tuesday we continued exploring the pleasures of the island, then met for our movement orders,

Voices of Canada at the Centre for the Arts The book series Anne of Green Gables is closely linked to PEI. It was written by Lucy Maud Montgomery, who grew up in Cavendish PEI (called “Avonlea” in the books) Green Gables house Brenda, Merlin & Patrick ponder Carl’s movement orders and described the scen- ery thereabouts in such another of our wildly popular potluck dinners, and a loving detail that loads group photo, thanks to Paul, our outstanding of tourists (including caravan photographer. many of us) are drawn to the house with the green gables. And most everyone stopped by a local favor- ite called Cows to assess their acclaimed ice Anne herself cream. The consensus: with Linda & Johnny it was terrific. On Monday evening we carpooled halfway across the island for New Glasgow Lobster Supper, which has been in operation by the same family since 1958. The menu included soft rolls right from the oven, steamed Island Blue mussels, a variety of soups and salads, a lobster apiece (unless you Janie, Judy, Linda, Carl & Allen wanted scallops or other seafood or chicken), and dish up their potluck choices 42 Mile 3259, August 10-12: Charlottetown On our way back to the campground, we passed to New Annan, Prince Edward Island the imposing Roman Catholic church of Notre Dame du Mont Carmel, which is significant as the spiritual by Lucille and John Karman home of many Acadian families. In 1898 Father On Wednesday, August 10th, we moved from Pierre-Paul Arsenault started the construction of Charlottetown-Cornwall KOA to Crystal Beach the church with only $6,000 in the bank. Because of Campground near Summerside, an arduous (ha-ha) his appealing and dynamic personality, he soon 35-mile trip. succeeded in bringing together not only the French- speaking parishioners but also English-speaking A visit to the Bottle Houses in Cap-Egmont local artisans who were not even members to build proved to be a wonderful surprise. They were built the church. by the late Édouard Arsenault after he received a postcard from his daughter of a glass castle, an attraction she had visited on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. That summer, he started collect- ing bottles from his community: local dance halls, the Canadian Legion, restaurants, friends, relatives, neighbors, even the dump. He spent the winter in the basement of his home, cleaning bottles, removing labels and dreaming of his project.

Notre Dame du Mont Carmel All of the estimated 450,000 bricks were made nearby at a brickyard in Lower Bedeque, and part of his fundraising consisted of “selling” bricks for five cents each; the purchaser’s name would be en- graved on the brick, and the Bottle Houses brick was then placed in the From 1980 to the spring of 1984, when he was interior of the 66, he cleverly cemented over 25,000 bottles of church. various shapes, sizes and colors, into three fantasy- like buildings. The first Bottle House was open to All the the public in 1981. columns in the church The local Catholic parishes gave him their color- were painted ful extra with a special votive can- technique dle holders using bird which he feathers, used to giving them a build a faux marble. beautiful Finish. chapel.

Bottle House chapel Faux marble column 43 The day was topped off by a delicious barbe- We enjoyed a qued steak dinner provided by our Wagon Master, delicious lobster roll Tail Gunner, and volunteer chefs who grilled every lunch on the deck of steak to perfection! the Carr Oyster Bar overlooking the Stanley Bridge, where we were entertained by some adventurous children jumping off the bridge into the Tales of shipwrecks channel.

Grilling to order: Paul, Scott, Mark & Rick

That evening our location on the water at Crys- Lunch on the deck overlooking Stanley Bridge tal Beach Campground provided us with a dazzling sunset. After lunch everyone went their separate ways again to discover and enjoy this part of PEI. We headed to nearby Summerside, where we found the Spinnaker Landing Marketplace boardwalk to be a fun place. Fishermen’s boat- houses have been converted into colorfully painted shops. One shop sold jewelry contain- ing oyster shells seeded to produce pearls of various colors and sizes. Buyers could then Sunset at Crystal Beach Thursday we all visited the Stanley Bridge Ma- rine Aquarium and Manor of Birds featuring tanks of native fish and over 700 mounted birds from around the world, as well as a collection of colorful butterflies. Afterward, as we were sit- ting on the deck awaiting our lunches, a staff Colorful shops at Spinnaker’s Landing member told us purchase a locket to hold the pearl. From the about some epic boardwalk there was a lovely view of the harbor shipwrecks on with all the various seacraft moored at the docks. Birds on Display that coast. 44 Who could resist going to the Canadian Potato After electricity finally reached West Point in Museum? Not Paul and Melody. 1963, the lighthouse was automated. In 1984, the keeper’s dwelling was reconstructed and a new structure was built nearby for the craft shop, and then in 1987 a large addition was added for seven additional guest rooms and a restaurant. It’s now a four-star inn, one of few lighthouses where you can actually stay overnight. Later that evening most of us went to the Brothers II Theatre in Summerside and were treat- ed to a fine dinner and a theater production called “Scandalous” that included music, comedy, and interaction with the audience.

Paul & Melody & giant spud

Prince Edward Island grows 25% of the potatoes eaten in Canada, and the museum celebrates all things potato. It has a sizeable collection of farm implements and machinery for growing and harvesting potatoes and is surrounded by – what else? – fields of potatoes. In the 1600s, potatoes were introduced to Europe and were considered poor man’s fare until it was discovered that they were nutritionally a near-perfect food. Speaking of near-perfect food: the potato fudge was sure tasty! John becomes part of the play West Point Lighthouse is a popular draw for All of the actors were multi-talented, played tourists, including us. Built in 1876, it’s the Island’s several different instruments each, performed in tallest lighthouse, standing very close to a sandy multiple roles, AND also served the food (which beach where the waters of the Northumberland was great) and the drinks! It was an evening of Strait and Egmont Bay merge. It is square and totally enjoyable laughter and mayhem between tapered, 67’8″ tall, its cedar shingles painted white the actors and the audience. What an amazing time with distinctive wide black horizontal stripes. we all had!

West Point Lighthouse Delightful mayhem 45 Mile 3632, August 13-17: New Annan PEI Sunday morning, to St Andrews, New Brunswick, to our indefatigable Hermon, Maine Wagon Masters and Tail Gunners again by Carol and Patrick Hill fixed us a super pan- We left Prince Edward Island reluctantly; most cake and sausage of us really liked it there, and there were so many breakfast. We have interesting things to do. We paid the $62 toll and eaten so well on this drove back across the Confederation bridge to New trip – it’s truly been a Brunswick. moveable feast – but I think our best meals have been those that Algonquin Resort have emerged within our own traveling community. After the breakfast, we all wandered off in our various direc- tions. St Andrews Confederation Bridge back to New Brunswick is a cute, tourist- oriented town This was our longest driving day, 246 miles to St these days. It was founded in 1783 by Loyalists Andrews, New Brunswick (called “St Andrews-by- coming north to escape persecution after the the-Sea” in its tourist marketing). It’s located at the American revolution and, as an important harbor southern tip of a peninsula extending into Passa- with a healthy shipbuilding industry, it grew and maquoddy Bay off the Bay of Fundy. We could see flourished for much of the next century. Many Maine just two kilometers across the bay, but the layers of history starting from the late 1700s are nearest actual border crossing was 30 miles away. visible in the buildings of the town. At the end of The wharf now serves pleasure boats as well as this long day, some fishing vessels. of us relaxed at the Kiwanis Oceanfront Campground, our RV park, others at an informal jam session of local musicians – guitars, bass, washboard, fiddle – while some St Andrews Wharf treated themselves to a nice dinner at The annual New Brunswick Wood Carving Com- Maine across the water the Algonquin Hotel. petition was held in St Andrews this weekend. In The original hotel was built in 1889 and was taken addition to wonderful, amazing carvings especially over by the Canadian Pacific Railroad at the turn of of birds, we also saw live chainsaw carving. the century, as the town was becoming an attrac- Paul and Melody rode their bikes over to Minis- tive summer resort town for the wealthy. When the ter’s Island, which is accessible only at low tide. The original Algonquin Hotel burned down, the existing island became well known at the end of the 19th still-popular resort was rebuilt in 1915. century as the summer estate of Sir William Van 46 The Garden includes an extraordinary collection of over 2,500 species of perennials, heaths and heathers, rhododendrons, a hedge-enclosed rose garden, astilbe, day lilies, a labyrinth, ponds, a 1890 Van Horne home wide variety of trees Horne, the president of the Canadian Pacific Rail- (some rare), way. He built a sandstone mansion furnished in the a cedar Carol & Don at the garden entrance most lavish late Edwardian manner, accessorized by maze, coneflowers, and a 1/3-scale Dutch windmill. manicured grounds, scenic roads, greenhouses Around the grounds, we saw peacocks, pygmy turning out exotic fruits and vegetables, as well as a goats, alpacas, and a sculpture garden with some breeding farm producing prize-winning Clydesdale astonishing creations. horses and Dutch Belted cattle. It was the most In establishing spectacular of many palatial summer homes in St. Kingsbrae Garden, Andrews, which had become a watering place of the Flemers hoped to note on the Canadian east coast. address rising unem- That evening we enjoyed our last lobster ployment in their dinner, prepared for us by campground staff. The community and antic- delicious lobster, which we are happily familiar with ipated that it would by now, was accompanied by potatoes, several create job opportuni- salads, dinner rolls, and a whole plateful of desserts ties that would keep for each of us. families in this area. Alpacas Training programs and career paths have been created in the horticul- ture, arts, and culinary fields. The culinary skills were obvious in the excellent lunch we had in the Garden’s restaurant.

Lobster dinner at campground The next morning we met at Kingsbrae Garden, recognized as one of Canada’s Top Ten Public Gar- Lunch in the Garden dens. The 27-acre delight was opened to the public Monday in 1998 on the estate that Lucinda Flemer had evening we inherited from her grandparents. Her grandparents’ had our last lovely home now houses the restaurant and offices; movement her parents’ smaller home on the estate has the orders/ social admission desk, gift shop, and restrooms. (Lucinda hour of our and her husband live in a small house behind her Canadian grandparents’.) journey. 47 Tuesday morning we embarked on the last leg of our caravan, over the border and 133 miles back to where we met up two months ago at Pumpkin Patch Campground in Hermon, Maine. None of us had much delay at the border in spite of all our enthusiastic shopping in the Maritimes.

Melody & early camper Our last social hour and Farewell Dinner were at Angler’s Restaurant in Bangor, a noisy and convivial time of good food and drinks.

Cruising across the border

Our last campground 5:00 pm social hour was crowned by another of the gorgeous sunsets we have been blessed with and continued on into the evening around a campfire.

Farewell Dinner Carl shared with us his thoughts and feelings about the caravan, and Mark spoke as well. Carl passed out mementos to those who had Social hour around the campfire performed services for the caravan: the travel The next day was our last outing, to the Cole group leaders, parking crew, caravan treasurer, Transportation Museum in Bangor, built to collect, caravan photographer, and the memory book, blog, preserve, and display a cross section of Maine’s and DVD editors. Then each of us related to the land transportation equipment. group our favorite memory of the trip. The museum contains the Maine Central Rail- This was the trip of a lifetime for all of us, and road Co. station house from Enfield ME, a railroad we are grateful to have shared it with such a terrific car, blacksmith shop, vintage automobiles, the first group. Many thanks to our Wagon Masters Carl and ski-doo in Maine, early horse-drawn wagons and a Gwen and our Assistant Wagon Masters Mark and prairie schooner, early motorcycles, snowplows, Linda for a truly great, memorable caravan! farm tractors, a potato harvester, a bus, delivery trucks for dairy products and ice, a command car We will be leaving Pumpkin Patch over the next used in World War II, and an early camper. Glad we few days to continue on our individual journeys, so didn’t have to try to do the Maritimes Caravan in at the end of the evening we said our fond fare- wells to our new-found and now dear friends. that! 48 49 50 51 52 Gwen and Carl Hopper SMART 1 – Carl and Gwen Hopper live in Carson City NV in Gwen’s childhood home. They have two sons and three grand- children. Carl spent 34 years in the Army National Guard, both active and -M day. His assignments included tours in Washington DC, Germany, and Little Rock AK. After retirement Carl taught high school JROTC for six years. Gwen spent most of her career raising the boys and keeping the home fires burning. They have been RVing since 1978 in a Dodge Van, a tent, tent trailer, 19- foot trailer, 28-foot trailer, and two motor homes. With the boys living in Tucson AZ and Atlanta GA, there is plenty of opportunity for travel. Betty Johnson SMART 1 - Betty Johnson was born in California. When she was 13, her family moved to Carson City NV, which has been her home of record ever since. After high school she attended nurse’s training in San Francisco, as Nevada had no nursing school in the early ’40s. She worked as an OR nurse for nearly three years before going to Hawaii to work. It was there she met her husband, a career Army man. They were stationed coast to coast and places in between. He retired in ’61 and they moved to Carson. She has two daughters (including Gwen, Wagon Master), four grandchildren, five great-grandchildren (and maybe one in the oven), and one great-great-grandson. She was widowed 21 years ago. They both loved to travel, and she’s keeping up the tradition. Linda and Mark Avey SMART 2 - Mark and Linda Avey were the traditional high school sweethearts, meeting in Simi Valley CA when Linda was a sopho- more and Mark a junior. They married in 1972 and have two adopted sons and a grandson and are expecting another grand- child in February. Linda has worked in insurance and as a secre- tary for various government military agencies. They are thankful that Linda is with us today, as she was working in the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, as the secretary for the Assistant Secre- tary of the Army for Financial Management. She left that posi- tion shortly after, worked in the private sector, and retired in 2012. Mark joined the Army National Guard in 1969 and served in many capacities, finishing up his 30-year career in 1999 as the Military Personnel Officer for the Enlisted Branch of the National Guard Bureau. Mark then worked in the private sector, retiring in 2012. They reside in Las Vegas NV. 53 Karen and William Berry SMART 14 - William and Karen Berry met in 2001 and married in 2002. William was born and raised in Hobbs NM. He is a Vietnam combat Army veteran and retired after 24 years of service. Following that, William worked in the petroleum industry in Houston, retiring in 2009. Karen was born and raised in Corsicana TX and retired in 2013 after a career in finance and accounting. When not traveling, they enjoy spending time with their daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter. Karen enjoys quilting and William enjoys fly tying, fly fishing, and kayaking.

Merlin Billings SMART 6 - Merlin and Suki Billings live in Newport News VA. Merlin retired from the US Army in 1994 after serving 30 years on active duty as an Army aviator, flying 0-1 Birddog, U-1A Otter, and rotary-wing aircraft in Vietnam, Germany, Korea and various forts stateside. They have five children, one of whom is an Air Force Academy graduate serving as a USAF Captain. They have two granddaughters and two great-granddaughters. Merlin travels with his adorable dog Coco.

Judy and Allen Carter

SMART 16 - Judy and Allen Carter travel extensively, both with the camper and overseas. However, they still maintain two homes, one in Tuckahoe NJ and the other in LaBelle FL. Judy is from Erie PA and Allen is from Cape May NJ. Judy is a retired teacher and principal. Allen is a retired AF SAC 135 Boomer (aerial refueling technician), school business administrator, and farmer. They have six children, five of whom live near them in NJ, the other in Charlotte NC. They have six grandchildren, one in high school, three in college, one in the Marines, and one married. After belonging to SMART for years, they finally decided to do a caravan. The first was the Autumn in Appalachia in the Fall of 2015, and they’re signed up for the Calgary Stampede in 2017. They enjoy visitors and would welcome you to their home, should you be in either area.

54 Richard Collins SMART 4 - A 20-year retiree from the Army, Richard Collins joined SMART about a year ago for the express purpose of participating in SMART caravans. He was born and raised in Biloxi MS, joined the military in college, served two tours in Germany and one in Korea before retiring at MacDill AFB in Florida in 1993. He then became a government contractor dealing with classified video, voice, and data communications for US CENTRAL Command in Desert Storm, OIF and OEF. He has a lovely wife of 48 years, two daughters, and five grandsons. Unfortunately, his participa- tion in the Maritime Caravan came to an abrupt end early in the trip due to an accident, but he enjoyed the time he had and all of the people whom he had the pleasure to get to know. He intends to take full advantage of the SMART opportunities in the future. Jim and Lida Cook SMART 5 - Jim and Lida Cook live in Long Beach CA and have been married for 20 awesome years. Jim served in the USAF for four years in Japan, Viet Nam, and Montana. He retired for the final time in 2014 from many years of work with a county agency, many as a financial analyst. Lida spent her 30-year-plus career in K-8 public education, retiring in 2013. She currently does consulting work. Lida has a daughter and twin sons and three granddaughters that they enjoy spending time with. Jim and Lida have RVed since they married and are enjoying these extended trips. They also love to travel in Europe.

Bo and Karen deBlieux SMART 15 - Bo and Karen deBlieux have been married for 42 years. They have two children who both live in Baton Rouge LA and four grandchildren from ages 12 years to 17 months. Bo is a three-year veteran of the US Army and retired in 2013 from sell- ing control valves and instrumentation. Karen has been an ele- mentary school librarian for all her working career, retiring in 2013. They started RVing that year and in August of 2015 sold their home in West Monroe LA and began full-timing. They joined SMART in July 2015 and went on the Autumn in the Appalachians caravan and loved it. (See Bo’s article in the July 2016 SMART Traveler.) They also enjoyed the National Muster in Perry GA and especially when they won the SMART Duffers Championship. They are looking forward to the Road to Amana caravan this fall. Their hobbies include bicycling and golfing.

55 Gale and Cheryl Heilman SMART 11 - Gale and Cheryl Heilman have resided in Fredericks- burg VA for over 20 years. They have two children, a son in Maryland and a daughter in the Fredericksburg area, and two grandsons. Gale served in the US Navy for 20 years and retired as an electronic warfare chief. He then worked for Lockheed Martin as a senior training specialist for Aegis computer system. He trained many young sailors who later came back to be instruc- tors with him. Cheryl taught in the regular education classroom and special education classroom for children with emotional disabilities. She retired as a school librarian. Gale and Cheryl started camping in 1972, often living in campgrounds between duty stations. Since retiring, they are enjoying wonderful places in the USA and now Canada. Carol and Patrick Hill SMART 3 - Patrick and Carol Hill drove 3,300 miles from their home in Bellevue WA to join the Maritimes caravan. Patrick served 23 years as a marine engineer in the US Coast Guard, stationed at bases up and down the West Coast, in Hawaii, and in Spain, serving on ice breakers and rescue cutters and in engineer- ing support, and deploying to Antarctica, New Zealand, and the Bering Sea. After retirement, Patrick studied computers, became a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, and worked as Computer Systems Administrator at a manufacturing company until 2012. Carol retired from the University of Washington also in 2012. Both grew up in California, came to the Seattle area as adults, and married in 2002. Carol has an adult son and daughter, and Patrick has an adult son and daughter-in-law. They joined SMART in 2012, are active in their local chapter, and love the caravans! Brenda and Richard Hitt SMART 17 - Richard and Brenda Hitt are from St Petersburg FL. They were introduced to SMART by Don and Sharon Parrish of Winter Park FL while they were both in the Tiffin Service Center in Red Bay AL. Several months later they saw the caravan to the Canadian Maritime Provinces on the website. They decided to join and sign up for their first caravan and are loving the experience. They have been wandering in our motorhomes since 2000, presently with their two Shelties, Piper and Timmy. They enjoy numerous activities including boating, scuba diving, snow skiing, golf, biking, hiking, discovering new places, and meeting new people in the US and abroad.

56 Lucille and John Karman SMART 9 - John and Lucille Karman have been married for 56 years and live in Kings Park NY, a small town 35 miles east of New York City. They have three daughters and eight grandchildren. John has 37 years of military service, nine on active duty and 28 on active Reserve duty, retiring from the Army in 1990. He also is a retired police officer from the New York City Police Department. He spent 22½ years on patrol assignments and in special operations units. He retired in 1983 as a detective. Lucille worked as a dental assistant and later as a manager in a glass fabrication company. Retirement years have been spent traveling throughout the USA, Canada, and Mexico in their motorhome.

Doris and Herb Laansoo SMART 8 - Herb and Doris Laansoo currently live in Athens AL. Herb was born in West Germany and raised in the Philadelphia PA suburbs. Doris was born and raised in Biloxi MS. They met in Huntsville AL and married in 2001. Herb retired from the US Army and Doris from Wal-Mart. They have three daughters, five grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. They started RVing in 2003.

Hank and Brenda Landry SMART 19 - Hank and Brenda Landry call Harlingen TX their home. Hank was born and raised in Boston and left there at 19 to join the Navy. Even so, he is still a die-hard Patriots and Red Sox fan! Brenda is a Texas girl who has lived in the Rio Grande Valley her whole life. Hank is a 30-year veteran of the US Navy, and Brenda has retired from her bookkeeping business. Both are retired now and enjoy traveling.

57 Johnny and Linda Leggett SMART 12 - Johnny and Linda Leggett have been married for 39 years and have four children and many grandchildren scattered about. They met while Johnny was in the Navy in Pensacola FL and have resided in Louisiana since his discharge from active duty in 1977. He later joined the Reserves, serving until 2006. They enjoy anything associated with the water and currently live on Caney Lake in rural north Louisiana. They have been boating for many years, traveling rivers and inland waterways in the southeastern US. They sold their 78-foot houseboat and bought their first RV about four years ago and are now on their fourth. They use them primarily for following NASCAR, mud riding on ATVs, and SMART adventures. The transition to RVing was easy and even better after joining SMART. Scott and Evelyn Mattheus

SMART 7 - Scott and Evelyn Mattheus are both native Nevadans. They met in high school in 1966, graduating together in 1968. They met again in 1988 and married in 1989. Scott first worked in Lake Tahoe, where he enlisted in the Army National Guard, serving for seven years. He also worked in construction trades, retiring in 2008. Evelyn worked for the Department of Transpor- tation, retiring after 30 years in 1999. She then worked as a real estate agent and for the Nevada Legislature for another 10 years, retiring in 2009. Their daughter is married and works in cancer research in Milwaukee. They bought their first RV in 2006 and another in 2015. They spend several months of the winter in San Diego and try to be on the road as much as possible. John and Janie Reynolds SMART 13 - Janie and John Reynolds, AKA “Britt and Batman.” One born in North Dakota, the other in Virginia, both Army brats who, after a marriage apiece, finally met in 1974. After their first date on a motorcycle ride to Santa Cruz, they knew it was destiny. They raised two boys, Larry and Jon, and have traveled the land on two wheels most of the time. After California for ten years, then Nevada for ten more, they landed in northern Virginia for the final tour. John retired, so off to Sturgis they went, then sold the house and moved south to spend the rest of their lives with much content. Tented first, then tent trailers. Bought their first pull-along in 2007. Upgraded a bit to a 34-foot motorhome with three slides, what a fit. They joined SMART a few years back and met the Hoppers in Perry for a really fine muster.

58 Melody and Paul Thomas SMART 18 - Melody and Paul Thomas are originally from Long Island NY. Melody served 31 years in the Army Reserve and was mobilized four times, the last in 2005 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. She and Paul are celebrating their 45th wedding anniver- sary this year. They began camping when their first child was born. Starting with lean-tos on hiking trails, then moving into tents, upgrading to pop-ups, and finally to 5th-wheel campers, they have been camping for more than 35 years. Melody and Paul retired and hit the road full time in 2013 with their dog, Bonnie, and cat, Sheba. They have one son (who has two sons) and one daughter (who has one son). Carol and Don Vardell

SMART 10 - Don and Carol Vardell call Pascagoula MS home. They married in 1999 and have six adult children, 11 grand- children, three great-grandchildren, and another great-grandson scheduled to arrive in September. Four generations of each side of their family have served or are serving in the US Navy. Carol retired in 2005 after a career in managing and buying for retail sales. Her hobbies include bridge, antiquing and flea markets, and raising Birds of Paradise. Don, a 22-year Navy veteran, held post-military service communication positions with US defense contractors, the government, and the private sector. Don also had an eight-year public school teaching career and retired fully in March 2006. He enjoys golf and photography, both of which he pursues while RVing full time.

59 Recipes

Étouffée 8 oz. butter (butter means butter) 12 oz. pkg seasoning frozen veggies, mostly onions and bell peppers 1 can Rotel brand original tomatoes (no substitute, as this has all the seasonings) 1 can cream of something soup: chicken, mushroom, whatever 1 lb. frozen seafood: crawfish, shrimp or whatever 4 oz. Velveeta cheese 1 C rice

Microwave seasoning veggies slightly so they can be broken up. In a skillet or electric skillet, start out on high heat and melt butter quickly. Break up partially thawed seasoning veggies into skillet. Heat veggies on high heat 5-7 minutes until onions are sautéed and starting to look clear, stirring occasionally. Add Rotel tomatoes and continue to cook 5-7 more min. Stir occasionally. Add soup. Stir well and cook a minute. Start rice in rice cooker now. Add frozen crawfish, shrimp, and/or other seafood. When mixture starts bubbling again, turn heat down, cover, and cook until seafood is done (time will vary depending upon how much and what kind and size seafood you use). Stir enough to keep from sticking. When seafood is done, break up cheese into small pieces and mix into étouffée. Stir until all cheese is melted. Serve over rice. Feeds 4-6 normal people. from Johnny Leggett, Maritimes Caravan 2016

Peanut Clusters

1 pkg (6 oz.) chocolate chips 1 pkg (12 oz.) butterscotch chips 1 pkg (12 oz.) salted Spanish peanuts

Line 2 cookie sheets with waxed paper. Combine chocolate and butterscotch chips in microwave-safe bowl. Heat 5-6 min. on half power (5) in microwave; don't overcook. (Chips will look like they're not melted — poke them to be sure they are.) Remove from microwave and stir in peanuts with rubber spatula. Drop by teaspoons onto waxed paper. Chill until firm. Makes 3½ - 4 doz.

from Carol Hill, Maritimes Caravan 2016

60 Brenda’s Lobster Tortellini Mac & Cheese Creation (exact quantities unknown) Rainbow cheese and spinach tortellini Almond milk Onion Skim milk Garlic Lobster (claw meat if possible) Mushrooms Creamy Havarti, sliced Sweet peppers Double creamy Brie, sliced Olive oil Parmesan cheese, grated ¼ - ½ pkg seafood chowder mix Herbs & spices: black pepper, mixed peppercorns, basil, sage, thyme, oregano, cumin, turmeric, Cajun spice mix Preheat oven to 350°. Coat baking dish with olive oil, set aside. Cook tortellini al dente, drain, set aside to cool. Sauté onions, garlic, mushrooms, and sweet peppers in olive oil. Add in sea- food chowder mix. Stir in almond milk & skim milk to make a creamy mixture to cover several layers of pasta. (Doesn’t need to be really creamy, but it’s important to have the moisture for the pasta.) Stir in herbs & spices. Layer in baking dish: cooled tortellini, lobster, creamy mix- ture, cheese slices; repeat each layer, adding a third layer of tortellini on the top. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350° for 1 hour. from Brenda Hitt, Maritimes Caravan 2016

Chocolate Potato Fudge 12-oz. pkg chocolate chips 2 T butter 1/3 C warm mashed potato 1 tsp vanilla 1/8 tsp salt 4 C powdered sugar

Grease an 8x8-inch pan. Melt chocolate and butter over hot water. Add mashed potato, salt, and vanilla. Gradually blend in powdered sugar until smooth. Pour into prepared pan and chill. Cut into 1-inch pieces.

from Canadian Potato Museum, Maritimes Caravan 2016

61 Rappie Pie 6 lbs whole chickens (2 3-lb chickens) 1 bay leaf 5 T butter, divided 1 celery rib, diced fine ¼ tsp thyme salt & pepper 1 carrot, grated 2 tsp salt 2 onions, diced 10 -12 potatoes Cut up chickens, wash, place in stock pot with celery, carrot, onion, bay leaf, thyme & salt. Add water to cover well (about 5 cups). Simmer about 1 hour, or until chicken is just cooked. Remove chicken, skin & bone, cut into bite-size chunks; reserve broth. Peel potatoes & reserve in cold water to keep them from turning black. Grate potatoes into a bowl of cold water. When all potatoes are grated, place grated potatoes in a thin dish towel & squeeze vigorously to extract all the water. Save & measure potato water. Save all the starch that has collected in the bottom of the bowl & add to the grated potatoes. Place potato pulp into a large bowl. Stirring, add hot chicken broth equal to the same volume as the discarded potato liquid. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Grease a 4-cup casserole with 2 T butter. Spread half the potatoes into bottom & sides of casserole. Salt & pepper to taste. Place chicken on top of potatoes in casserole. Cover with remaining potatoes. Measure out 4-5 cups of the reserved broth; bring to a boil; pour on the pie. Dot with 3 T butter, salt & pepper. Bake in 400° oven for 1½-2 hours. from Ye Olde Towne Pub in Annapolis Royal NS, Maritimes Caravan 2016

Lunar Rhubarb Cake ½ C butter 1 tsp soda Topping: 1 ½ C sugar ½ tsp salt ¼ C butter 1 egg 1 C buttermilk 2 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp vanilla 1 T flour 1 C firmly packed brown sugar 2 C flour 2 C rhubarb, cut into ½-inch pieces

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 9x13-in. pan. Cream butter & sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Sift together 2 C flour, soda & salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, starting and ending with the buttermilk. Toss rhubarb with 1 T flour and mix gently into batter. Spoon into prepared pan and smooth surface. Topping: Blend ingredients together and sprinkle evenly over batter. Bake at 350° for 45 min. or until the cake has risen and is lightly browned. Makes about 18 servings. from Donna Middleton, St John, New Brunswick, Maritimes Caravan 2016

62 Credits

Memory Book Editor: Carol Hill Blogmaster: Carol Hill DVD Wizard: Patrick Hill Caravan Photographer: Paul Thomas Contributing Photographers: Mark & Linda Avey Jim & Lida Cook Patrick & Carol Hill Rick & Brenda Hitt Herb & Doris Laansoo Johnny & Linda Leggett John & Janie Reynolds Paul & Melody Thomas Don & Carol Vardell Caravan Treasurer: Evelyn Mattheus

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